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The Corporate Sector supporting Young People in Victoria
June 2014
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) is a vibrant, member based organisa-tion that represents and advocates for young people and the organisations that work with them. YACVic has worked for and with young Victorians and the services that support them for over 50 years.
Our vision is for a Victorian community in which all young people are valued as active participants, have their rights recognised and are treated fairly and with respect.
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria IncLevel 2, 180 Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000Ph: (03) 9267 3799 Fax: (03) 9639 1622
www.yacvic.org.au
ContactJessie Mitchell, Manager, Policy & [email protected]
June 2014
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Contents
Introduction 4
Victorian Government initiatives 6
Recent losses 7
Corporate contributions to the community 8
Philanthropic foundations 8
Direction donations 9
Corporate volunteering 9
Working in partnership 10
Case study: Corporate youth mentoring – IBM and the Smith Family 14
Case study: Workforce experience for young people at risk 15
Case study: Corporate sponsorship for youth services – Youth Connect 17
Case study: Connecting Youth & Business: a toolkit for employers 18
Recommendations 20
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Introduction
In their 2012 Youth Statement, Engage, Involve, Create, the Victorian Government defined one of
their three priorities as ‘creating new ideas and partnerships’ – ‘bringing young people,
governments, business, community and philanthropic organisations together.’1 Meanwhile, many
business and corporate entities wish to support better outcomes for young people. This enables
them to make positive contributions to their communities, enhance their reputation and
connections, fulfil their corporate social responsibility obligations, and boost morale amongst their
employees.
The role of corporate organisations in supporting young people is a timely subject for discussion.
Young people face particular vulnerabilities in relation to employment, an issue which businesses
must be engaged in addressing. For example, the unemployment rate for young Victorians is almost
twice the general unemployment rate; a quarter of young Victorians do not feel there are enough
opportunities for further study, training and employment where they live; and over a quarter of
young Victorians who graduate from higher education and are available for employment are still
not employed full time.2 As Victoria’s population ages, with approximately a quarter of Victorians
expected to be over 65 by 2045, it will become more important than ever to foster a strong,
productive young workforce, and support young people to take that first step into a solid,
meaningful career.3
The corporate sector has shown its interest in this area. In April 2014, the Australian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (ACCI) called upon the federal government to prioritise boosting youth
employment. ACCI president Peter Hood commented “It is concerning, even disheartening, to see
large numbers of young people without a job, not in full-time education or not actively looking for
work... it is imperative that support is maintained to help young Australians learn to work.”4
The ACCI paper calls for federal and state governments to prioritise:
Industry Career development – careers advisors in schools should be better linked to
industry to ensure they provide up-to-date, accurate advice to young people about
opportunities and industry demand.
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Work-ready graduates – all school leavers should meet minimum literacy and numeracy
requirements, and VET in Schools should be high quality and responsive to industry. ‘Work
ready’ skills such as communication, team work, problem solving, working with clients,
dealing with pressure and understanding health and safety, should be embedded in
schooling and supported through industry-education partnerships.
Apprenticeships and traineeships – restore employer incentives to take on entry-level
traineeships and apprenticeships. These should integrate qualification attainment with work
experience, and incorporate foundation skill competency units, to ensure young people are
well supported with literacy, numeracy and work-ready skills.
Ensure that employment services provided through Job Services Australia and disability
services networks fully engage employers and address industry demand.
Review workplace regulation to encourage employers to hire young people, with wages
commensurate to work skill levels.5
Meanwhile, a growing body of scholarship around ‘collective impact’ has begun to show how
corporate organisations can work with other sectors to address youth disadvantage in general.
Collective impact approaches recognise that the corporate sector has significant social impact
through its actions, and must be supported to work with government, not-for-profits, philanthropic
foundations and the community to develop shared goals and indicators for addressing social
problems, coordinate their work, and share their learnings. These partnerships can include local
employers, chambers of commerce, and corporate foundations.6
In this paper, we will outline recent actions by the Victorian Government to promote the role of
corporate organisations in improving outcomes for young people, and place this in a policy context.
We will then summarise the different ways that corporate bodies can help young people to build
their skills, and outline the key elements to successful partnerships between the corporate and
youth sectors.
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Victorian Government initiatives
In the 2013-14 state budget, the government committed $2 million over four years to support
business to mentor young people in starting their own small businesses, and to support youth social
enterprise. In line with this, the government started the Youth Partner Network, to link business,
philanthropy, government and the youth sector. The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) was
engaged to grow the network, which has held forums on volunteering, mentoring, career pathways,
and social media. Additionally, the government supported the ‘Getting down to business’ program,
for young people aged 16-25 looking to start or grow their own enterprises. This program brings
together 40 young people, supporting them to refine and promote their ideas and develop their
own business and mentoring plans, with help from industry experts.
Through the Department of Human Services Office for Youth, the government also funded Yerp, the
youth engagement resource project by the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria produced in 2013. A
toolkit for young people, older people and organisations, Yerp includes material about how youth
engagement can enhance business and the economy, how young people contribute to their
communities as employees, employers and entrepreneurs, and how to leverage corporate
sponsorship.7
Such work resonates with the principles articulated in a guide to community sector / business
relationships developed in 2012 by the Victorian Government Office for the Community Sector,
with the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce. This guide advises not-for-profits and
businesses about developing corporate social responsibility and community engagement strategies,
finding and pitching to suitable partners, and dealing with risk management, MOUs, communication
and reviews.8
Meanwhile, the government has developed an industry participation model to inform their strategy
for refocusing vocational education and training in Victoria. This model supports industry leaders to
provide feedback to government about critical skills, training and market conditions, via an Industry
Skills Consultative Committee, an Annual Industry Skills Conference, specialist industry
consultations teams, and Regional Market Facilitation Managers.
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
The role of the corporate sector was also considered in Peter Shergold’s 2013 Service Sector
Reform: a roadmap for community and human services reform, commissioned by the Victorian
Government. Shergold notes that many community organisations favour ethical partnerships with
business, and urges that government remove any disincentives for community organisations to
attract corporate funding.9
Recent losses
Unfortunately, recent developments at a federal level will make it harder for young people to
engage positively in employment and the business sector. The 2014-15 federal budget removed the
funding to Youth Connections, a program which provided career counselling and support to early
school leavers, helping 74,000 vulnerable young Australians to re-engage with study and work since
2010, including approximately 6,000 young Victorians each year.10
The federal budget also ceased funding to the Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs).
The LLENs bring together businesses, trainers, schools and communities to design collaborative
local solutions to youth employment issues. They work with about 5,000 businesses and other
organisations across the state, and are widely recognised as the main partnership brokerage bodies
in this space, valued for their independence and the trusted local networks they have built up over
than a decade. The average annual grant for a LLEN is equal to the cost of approximately 28 young
people on Newstart, making it a solid investment, and LLENs have typically managed to leverage 4
to 6 times their government funding from partners and sponsors (in funding and in kind).
Corporations and businesses, as well as education and community partners, have worked
extensively with the LLENs, including providing them with pro bono assistance. The LLEN model had
previously received resourcing from the state government too, but was not mentioned in the
recent state budget. As such, we are uncertain of the LLENs’ funding future.11
We also note that in 2013 the Victorian Government discontinued funding to an employment
program resourced by the Department of Business and Innovation, which worked with hundreds of
Victoria’s most vulnerable young people to help them to become ‘work ready’ and find and keep
jobs. This work program was hosted run by reputable youth organisations such as Whitelion, St
Kilda Youth Services, the YMCA and Youth Connect. The Minister for Employment and Trade
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
announced that the program would be replaced by a new scheme providing subsidies to businesses
for employing young people. However this direct approach does not include the critical supports
needed to engage the most disadvantaged young people (the ones most vulnerable to long-term
unemployment) in finding and keeping jobs.12
Corporate contributions to the community
The corporate sector supports improved outcomes for young people and other community
members in a range of ways: through corporate philanthropy, workplace giving, sponsorship of
services and events, brand alignment, cause-related marketing, donation of goods, and staff
volunteering. The benefits to corporates include improvement of staff morale and engagement, the
marketing value of being associated with trusted and meaningful causes, and fulfilment of company
corporate social responsibility objectives.13
Some corporates have their own philanthropic foundations. Philanthropy Australia, the not-for-
profit national peak body for philanthropy, lists 66 business and corporate foundations amongst its
members. In a recent scope of philanthropic donations to youth programs operating in Victoria
during 2012-13, YACVic found that business and corporate foundations had donated over
$5,518,051 to youth initiatives operating in Victoria during the last funding round. (As many do not
disclose their full donations, the real figure must be higher.) Donations to youth programs from
corporate foundations ranged in size from $2,300 to help a Scout group buy some sporting
equipment, to $3,600,000 to support the development of the Youth Health Research Centre with
Orygen, Melbourne Health and the University of Melbourne.14
However, in the last reporting round only 9 out of 66 corporate foundations reported donating to
initiatives to benefit young people in Victoria. This suggests there is scope for engaging other
corporate foundations in the Victorian youth space. However, most of those who did donate, such
as AMP Foundation, Macquarie Group Foundation and Coca Cola Australia Foundation, donated to
multiple youth initiatives, indicating a strong commitment to young people.15
Corporate foundations supported youth initiatives in a number of topic areas. The two most
popular areas concerned educational engagement and helping young people experiencing
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
disadvantage; this mirrors overall trends in philanthropic giving. Other popular areas included
disability support and camps for young people at risk of disadvantage, followed by Indigenous
mentoring, employment support, mentoring programs, health prevention workshops, breakfast
clubs, the Australian Youth Orchestra, youth first aid training, scholarship programs, and supporting
young people in out-of-home care or nursing homes.16
It is difficult to say which parts of Victoria benefited the most from corporate philanthropy, as most
corporate grants to youth programs did not specify a location, or went to programs operating
across multiple locations. The most common locations that were specified were in Melbourne’s
inner suburbs, followed by regional centres and interface suburbs of Melbourne. Very few
corporate grants went to youth programs in small rural communities.17 While rural youth services
have limited capacity to leverage funding, other philanthropic foundations and funds showed a
stronger preference for rural grants (albeit often small ones). This suggests there is further scope to
enhance the role of corporate foundations in youth grant-giving to rural communities.18
Meanwhile, some corporate entities support improved community outcomes via direct donations
from employees. Here, they can leverage stronger support from their employees by
communicating clearly the full value and impacts of what is being donated. For example, the
Institute of Chartered Accountants, reflecting on their workplace giving program, Everybody
Counts, found it useful to enumerate the value of everything they contributed to the not-for-profit
sector – not only pre-tax payroll donations, but also workplace fundraising, volunteering and in-kind
support. They found that the full scope of their contributions came to 70% more than the direct
donations alone; this news was positively received by their staff, who continued to give directly
while expressing greater pride in their workplace.19
Furthermore, while direct donations and grants remain important, the corporate sector is
increasingly contributing to the community in other, more creative ways, notably through
corporate volunteering. Volunteering not only benefits the community; when done well, it provides
volunteers with new skills and networks, and builds their wellbeing and community connectedness.
According to NSW Volunteering, workplace volunteering strengthens the engagement of employees
in their work and increases their job satisfaction, morale and wellbeing. It has also been linked to
reduced turnover and absenteeism.20
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
A strong example of workplace volunteering is provided by NAB, which recently committed to reach
one million volunteering hours through its employee volunteering program by 2018. NAB has
found that employees who volunteer also show stronger engagement in their workplace and
improved productivity and customer interactions. In 2013, NAB employees volunteered 18,127 days
with community organisations, in areas including banking, HR, marketing and accounting – the
equivalent of $7.4 million in value. NAB employees receive a minimum of 16 hours paid
volunteering leave a year.21
At a Corporate Volunteering Breakfast hosted by Volunteering Victoria and NAB, presenters from
the Macquarie School of Management, the Commonwealth Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers
discussed the importance of employees being actively encouraged to volunteer, through messages
from CEOs, charity champions and management support, in order to address the barrier of
employees feeling they are not being ‘asked’ to volunteer. Another challenge concerns finding the
right volunteering opportunities for employees. Here, it is important to offer a variety of options:
opportunities to volunteer individually or in a team, skilled volunteering, secondments, and micro-
and flexible volunteering. Volunteering Victoria and NAB have continued to run events to support
corporate organisations to encourage their employees to volunteer, network and share expertise.22
While corporate social responsibility attracts strong attention, NSW Volunteering have also drawn
attention to the importance of community contributions by small- and medium-sized businesses.
These businesses are often more likely to enjoy close, personal links to their local communities and
local stakeholders. However, with fewer resources to draw upon, smaller businesses need strong
support, networking and partnership brokerage to help them put their workplace volunteering in
motion.23
Working in partnership
Regardless of how corporate entities work with the youth sector, it is important to foster strong
partnerships. In their 2010 work about corporate community involvement in Australia and New
Zealand, Dr Denni Arli (Griffith University) and Adjunct Professor Gianni Zappala (Centre for Social
Impact) noted that there had been a shift away from traditional ‘arms-length’ donations and
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
towards corporations working with other community stakeholders in longer-term arrangements,
often involving the exchange of non-financial resources such as staff expertise and mentoring.24
In their 2010 work Partnerships in the Youth Sector (compiled for the Australian Youth Research
Centre and the Foundation for Young Australians), Fiona Taylor, Lucas Walsh and Roger Holdsworth
considered what makes for a good business / youth sector partnership. They presented examples of
partnerships between businesses and youth services which had demonstrated success in reducing
young people’s petrol sniffing in central Australia, starting an accessible youth arts space in
Gosford, and supporting young people appearing in the Children’s Court in Parramatta. Key
elements of a successful partnership included:
A strong cost-benefit analysis and evidence base to support the work
Building trust between partners and a clear common purpose
Agreeing on strategies for handling advocacy and the media
A strong sense of community ownership of the project
Community-based steering groups, utilising local resources and networks
Ensuring all partners understand each other’s work and its value
Active participation by young people, in ways which are relevant and accessible for them
Keeping all partners up-to-date on ‘good news stories’ and positive outcomes for young
people, and ensuring positive media opportunities
Giving the partnership time to develop and demonstrate its worth.25
This appears to back the broader findings about ‘collective impact’. (While collective impact
initiatives are new, the White House Council for Community Solutions has identified a dozen
communities in the United States where such initiatives have achieved 10% or more progress on a
community-wide metric, 100 other communities moving in this direction, and 500 in the planning
stages. The approach is also gaining momentum in Australia.) Collective impact requires three
preconditions: urgency for change, influential and respected champions, and adequate financial
resources. Once commenced, these initiatives are characterised by a common agenda, shared
measurement of data and results, continuous communication with an emphasis on trust and
understanding and respecting each other’s work, and ‘backbone’ support for staff and
infrastructure to enable the partnership to function.26 John Kramer, a pioneer and leading advocate
for collective impact, has stressed that this approach should not be presented to corporate partners
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
as just another opportunity to show their social responsibility. Rather, it should be acknowledged
that certain social issues affect the performance of businesses in relation to markets, productivity,
recruitment of staff, and workplace safety. 27
Representatives from the corporate sector have provided advice to not-for-profits looking for
corporate partnerships, much of which seems to echo the above findings. For example, Pat
Cunningham, Head of Sponsorship and Events at Westpac, has offered the following advice to not-
for-profits:
Research the ideal corporate partner whose values, reputation, territories and market
demographics align with your organisation
Utilise any corporate networks of your members, supporters and volunteers
Ensure your proposals to the corporate organisation are compelling and targeted, not
generic, and that they include story-telling, testimonials and visual representations
Accept non-financial support from corporates
Show evidence of social impact, strategic planning and return on investment; and –
Nurture the partnership, communicating and evaluating regularly.28
Similarly, fundraising and corporate partnership representatives from Ronald McDonald House
Charities have reflected that the characteristics of successful corporate / not-for-profit relationships
include: a very clear purpose, enough time to develop a long-term partnership, clear measurement
of the partnership’s value, adequate resources and energy to support the partnership, alignment
between the values and missions of all partners, and a compatible geographical focus for all
partners.29 However, this last point suggests the problems that can arise for youth projects seeking
corporate partnership if they are based in rural or remote areas, without a strong local corporate
presence.
In 2012, YACVic held a forum to consider how partnerships with business could be better supported
to strengthen outcomes for young people. It was attended by representatives from youth services,
the Office for Youth, philanthropy and partnership brokers. They articulated their own ideas about
what made for a strong relationship with corporate partners, including:
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
A strong, independent broker who can facilitate and coordinate relationships, provide a
single point of contact and advice for stakeholders, and ensure that partnerships don’t
depend too much on individuals
Targeting partnerships to fit the business’s ‘brand’– eg, a bank supporting a youth financial
literacy program
Enabling businesses to engage in skilled volunteering, providing ‘back of house’ support for
youth services, for example through board membership or expert advice
Giving businesses opportunities to employ young people, while youth services provide
wrap-around support to keep young people engaged
Shared objectives, values and goals
Time for partnerships to mature
Adequate resourcing to support the partnership
Full public recognition of corporate contributions.30
Participants also identified common pitfalls in business / youth sector partnerships. These included:
Too many youth organisations ‘knocking on the same door’, overwhelming and confusing
their potential corporate partners
Lack of time to develop real relationships or show the benefits of a partnership
Tensions between large NGOs, which have greater capacity and expertise in leveraging
corporate support, and small youth services which often have stronger connections to local
communities, notably in rural areas
The complexity of youth services’ funding and reporting, which can involve an array of state,
federal and local government and philanthropic streams, and which can be difficult for
businesses to navigate.31
Participants also recognised that there are differences between local place-based partnerships and
state-wide or national partnerships, which require different kinds of brokerage and support.
There are many examples of corporate entities working to improve outcomes for young people. On
the following pages we profile some different approaches: corporate youth mentoring, workforce
experience, and sponsorship for youth services. We also outline a toolkit developed recently to
assist corporate bodies wishing to get started in this space.
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Case study: Corporate youth mentoring – IBM and the Smith Family
Since 2002, IBM Australia has partnered with the Smith Family to deliver iTrack, an online
mentoring program for secondary students from financially disadvantaged communities around
Australia. The program started when the Smith Family recognised that many young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds had talent and ambition but did not understand the education and
career pathways they would need to pursue, to achieve their goals. In many cases, their families
had limited experience of education or work, and so found it hard to advise them, and the young
people had few other role models.
iTrack links students with IBM mentors over two school terms. Mentors are screened, inducted, and
matched with a student according to the student’s aspirations and interests. They meet in person at
an IBM location, thus experiencing a real workplace, then stay in touch via online chats, projects
and activities, discussing leadership, professional experience, study, career pathways, and the role
of technology in society. The mentors also visit the students at school. More than 850 students
have taken part in the program, and last year 93% of students who took part said that their mentor
had given them more ideas about what to do after finishing school.
Comments from students included:
- “It was really fun, and helpful. The more I talked to my mentor the more I was able to build
my confidence in what I wanted to do for my career.”
- “[My mentor] taught me things that I didn’t know (which was really useful), she encouraged
me to be more confident, and she's one of the best mentors ever.”
Comments from IBM mentors included:
- “I really enjoy the interaction of chatting online and the vibrancy of my mentees. I get a
great deal of satisfaction in participating in iTrack. I feel that I am doing something useful.”
- “My student was lacking in overall confidence and was quite introverted ... I felt he gained a
fair bit from the experience, more so in being able to speak to somebody outside his family
situation.”32
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Case study: Workforce experience for young people at risk
Since 2000, the community organisation Whitelion has run an employment program for young
people aged 15-24 who have been marginalised due to a history of involvement in the justice
system, drug and alcohol problems, mental illness or homelessness. The program depends on the
successful engagement of corporate partners, which have included TOLL, Schweppes, KFC, City
West Water, Coles, Bakers Delight, Telstra, and the Australian Taxation Office. More than 200
young people have taken part, and Whitelion has around 35 business partners.
Many of the young people who take part have very limited work experience and few role models,
so it is important to build their skills and confidence and find the right placements. Placements are
in areas including administration, hospitality, trade, construction, logistics and transport. Before
entering the program, young people are given a vocational assessment and pre-employment
training. This includes resume development, interview preparation, and workplace orientation
concerning time-management, setting a routine, and appropriate workplace conduct. After starting
their placements, young people are supported by a Whitelion employment worker and a workplace
‘buddy’. Training and support is also provided for their employers. In a 2004 study of KFC restaurant
managers who had taken part, 100% said their patience had been developed through the Whitelion
initiative, and 80% said their empathy and understanding had increased.
In 2012, Whitelion and one of their corporate partners, Toll Group, received strong public
recognition through the Rotary Club of Southbank’s Community Service Awards, for their
collaborative employment program, Second Step. This program provides 12 month placements for
around 40 young people a year, many of whom end up being offered full-time positions. Toll
employees also support Whitelion with industry presentations in custodial facilities, recreational
events, fundraising and workplace mentoring.
Young people who took part in the Whitelion program have commented:
- “For the first time in my life I’ve been given a chance to really succeed and have a decent
life. I went from having nothing and no hope, to having a great job.”
- “Through work I’ve learnt skills that I never knew I had and it was great seeing my
workmates trust me.”
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
- “I’ve learnt to trust and be more open. I feel like one of the team and they trust me and rely
on me. … If there’s no one to help us, we can become institutionalised. I’ve made a promise
to myself to succeed.”
Employers have commented:
- “This is a real grass roots contribution, with hands-on involvement. It’s had a positive impact
on the team, and on how people view things … Some of the girls have been a delight.”
- “In the stores that have supported this program, the staff turnover has dropped, as
managers have learned new and more perceptive ways to deal with Whitelion employees
and then transferred these methods to all staff.”
- “We’ve had two girls. The first one chose to leave. The second has been great and we want
to put her on full time. She is as good as the best, a real team member!”33
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Case study: Corporate sponsorship for youth services – Youth Connect
Youth Connect is a not-for-profit community organisation supporting young people in Melbourne’s
south-eastern suburbs. They work with employers, education providers, parents and community
services to help young people develop the skills, knowledge and connections to make successful
transitions through secondary education and into further learning and employment. To help
achieve this, the service leverages corporate sponsorship.
To promote their service to potential sponsors, Youth Connect explains how this relationship can
complement a company’s ‘brand’ and enhance its community image and credibility. They also
outline in practical terms how sponsorship benefits young people – eg, how a donation of a certain
amount helps specific numbers of young people into training or case management.
Several corporate sponsorship packages are available – platinum, gold and silver – to suit different
companies’ aims and capacity. Company contributions range from $10,000 (plus GST) per annum to
$2,000 per annum. Benefits to sponsors vary according to level, but include:
Prominent acknowledgement and display of the company’s logo and web links through
Youth Connect communications, including their website, newsletters, email signatures,
annual reports, reception area and events. Youth Connect enumerate the amount of traffic
through each of these spaces, to show the value of exposure there.
Coverage of the company’s work in Youth Connect’s newsletter
Use of Youth Connect’s logo in the company’s marketing and promotion
Free or discounted entry to career and transition workshops for the company’s staff and
families
Opportunities for company employees to volunteer with young people
Tickets to Business Network Breakfasts and Youth Connect’s Annual Applied Learning
Awards Ceremony.
Youth Connect Inc. also has Deductible Gift Recipient status, which entitles sponsors to make gifts
to the service tax deductible.34
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Case study: Connecting Youth & Business: a toolkit for employers
Opportunity Nation, a multi-sector coalition in the United States, recently produced a toolkit to
support the work of the White House Council for Community Solutions, to assist businesses to
engage young people at risk of educational or employment disadvantage. Connecting Youth &
Business outlines the benefits to business in engaging young people at risk of disadvantage,
including recruiting diverse new talent, expanding their consumer base, and strengthening their
company’s reputation for supporting growth and innovation. The kit describes three approaches:
‘soft skills’, ‘work-ready’ and ‘learn and earn’.
A ‘soft skills’ approach refers to businesses helping young people to develop basic life skills
necessary for the workplace, while a ‘work-ready’ approach means supporting young people to
build the skills and knowledge to find a job and keep it. These approaches require the following pre-
conditions:
Employees who can volunteer and interact with young people
Knowledge of the skills to be shared – eg, job-seeking, professional etiquette, and what’s
needed to get an entry-level job in the industry
Support from immediate management (in the case of a soft skills program) or company
leadership (in the case of a work-ready program)
A corporate culture that values professional growth and development
These pre-conditions are also ideal:
Expertise within the business to create, then facilitate, a training agenda
Activities for young people engaged in work-ready programs to practice networking and
develop professional links
Incentives for young people to participate, such as stipends, snacks or graduation
ceremonies
A corporate culture that values social responsibility, community investment and flexibility
Capacity and willingness to measure the program’s outcomes
And these pre-conditions are desirable:
Running sessions for young people at the workplace itself, so they can experience a real
business setting
Linking with other companies and community services to help young people build networks
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Previous involvement by the business in youth initiatives such as mentoring or tutoring.
A ‘learn and earn’ approach refers to young people learning to apply their skills and build their
resumes in a corporate workplace, while being paid. Such a program needs the following elements:
A partner organisation to recruit young participants, preparing them with soft-skills training
and on-the-job basics, supporting them to access wrap-around supports like legal counsel,
health care and housing, and helping them find jobs afterwards
Company resources to support the partner organisations, and to cover the program’s costs
in human resources, management and employment of the young people
Clear timelines and outcomes for the project, suitable scheduling, a supportive learning
environment, and chances for young interns to spend structured time together – for
example with guest speakers, group activities or company events
Compensating young people for the work performed, through wages or scholarships
Setting high performance expectations and supporting young people to meet them.
The toolkit provides businesses with practical advice on how to pursue each approach, and
examples of how to run activities such as soft-skills workshops and job-shadow days.35
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YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
Recommendations to government
Partnership brokerage –
Renew funding to the Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) to broker
partnerships between the business, education and community sectors to improve
employment and educational outcomes for young people. (A renewed investment of $48
million over four years, continuing the LLENs’ funding at approximately current levels.)
Workplace transition support –
Fund a ‘work ready’ employment and training program that provides intensive, case-
managed support for vulnerable young people aged 17-24 who face significant barriers to
employment. (New investment of $8 million over four years, to deliver training and
employment outcomes for 360 young people.)
Fund a program in the style of Youth Connections, to provide flexible, responsive and
individualised support to young people aged 12 to 17 who are disengaged from education,
to help them make successful transitions into education, training and employment. This
program should be aligned with Victoria’s 17 Area Partnerships. (Repurposed Investment of
Student Resource Packages for 5,000 disengaged young people per annum, redirecting
existing funds.)
Good practice –
Build a tool set and evaluation framework for corporate and business entities hosting youth
mentoring programs to evaluate their work and demonstrate its value. These should be
accompanied by accessible, comprehensive resources and advice concerning youth
mentoring, to help corporate partners work with schools and community organisations to
achieve solid results.
Work with Volunteering Victoria and their corporate partners such as NAB to promote good
practice in corporate volunteering with a special focus supporting young people. For
example, this could be the topic of one of the events in their corporate ‘breakfast series’.
Host an annual Victorian business / youth sector partnership award, to promote good
practice and give positive publicity to businesses engaged in supporting improved outcomes
for young people.
21
YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
New connections –
Use the Youth Partner network to bring together corporate philanthropic foundations with
youth services and peak bodies such as Philanthropy Australia and YACVic, to promote
corporate philanthropic engagement with youth projects, notably in smaller rural
communities. (If possible, run several events in Victorian locations.) This event could include
speakers from corporate foundations with a strong history of supporting youth projects,
along with researchers and youth service providers, to discuss the priorities of corporate
foundations, key youth issues and the best approaches to partnership.
Host an annual Business / Youth Sector ‘Speed-dating’ event, providing an opportunity for
representatives from the two sectors to meet potential partners and discuss priority issues
and approaches, without having to produce or read vast numbers of applications. These
events could include guest speakers and case studies showcasing successful partnerships.
22
YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
1 Victorian Government, Engage, Involve, Create: Youth Statement, Melbourne, 2012, p.19
2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force, 6202.0 March 2014, p.9
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6202.0; Brotherhood of St Laurence, ‘Appendix A: Youth Unemployment Maps,’ 2014, http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/myChanceOurFuture_appendixA_maps_Feb2014.pdf ; Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), How Young People Are Faring 2013: Supporting Tables, Melbourne, 2013, p.27; Mission Australia, Youth Survey 2013, Sydney, 2013, p.126 3 Australian Government Productivity Commission, Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia: Productivity
Commission Research Report, Melbourne, 24 March 2005, pp.xii, 13 4 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Learning to work: A helping hand for young Australians, Barton, April
2014, p.3 5 Ibid., pp.3-13
6 For more about collective impact, see Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic), Yikes, April 2014, p.12
7 YACVic, Yerp, 2013, http://yerp.yacvic.org.au/
8 Victorian Government Office for the Community Sector, Community Sector Business Partnerships Guide and Toolkit,
Melbourne, 2012 9 Peter Shergold, Service Sector Reform: a roadmap for community and human services reform, Melbourne, 2013,
pp.35-36 10
Australian Council of Social Service, ‘Focus on jobs not penalising people,’ 28/5/2014,
http://acoss.org.au/media/releases/ 11
Briefing (2014) from Jennifer Hippisley, Chief Executive Officer, Chair LLEN Partnership Broker Victorian State
Network 12
See Victorian Council of Social Service and YACVic, ‘Cuts to programs fail government’s own test,’ 30 May 2013, http://www.yacvic.org.au/news/media-releases/431-media-release-cuts-to-youth-programs-fail-government-s-own-test 13
Kelly Mancey and Matthew Henry , ‘Mythbusting Not for Profit Partnerships’, ProBono News, 21 August 2013 14
AMP Foundation, 2013 Community Report, https://www.amp.com.au/wps/portal/au/AMPAUMiniSite3C?vigurl=%2Fvgn-ext-templating%2Fv%2Findex.jsp%3Fvgnextoid%3Dd9a4a17c612f1210VgnVCM10000083d20d0aRCRD; Commonwealth Bank, ‘Community Grants 2013,’ https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/in-the-community/employee-giving/staff-community-fund/2013-recipients.html; Coca-Cola Australia Foundation, ‘Who we’ve helped: grant recipients 2013,’ http://www.coca-colajourney.com.au/coca-cola-australia-foundation/who-weve-helped ; Colonial Foundation Limited, Annual Report 2012, http://www.colonialfoundation.org.au/assets/166/Files/Colonial%20Foundation%20Limited%20Annual%20Report%202011-2012.pdf ; Commonwealth Bank Staff Community Fund, ‘Community Grants: Victoria,’ https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/in-the-community/employee-giving/staff-community-fund/2013-recipients.html ; IOOF Foundation, ‘Recent Grants FY 2013,’ http://www.ioof.com.au/iooffoundation/our_stories/recent_grants; Macquarie Group Foundation, Annual Review 2012, http://static.macquarie.com/dafiles/Internet/mgl/shared/au-com/about/foundation/mgf-news/annual-reports/docs/2012_macquarie_foundation_annual_report.pdf?v=1; Philanthropy Australia, ‘Who Are Our Members?’, http://www.philanthropy.org.au/join/who-are-our-members/ (Accessed Feb 2014); St George Foundation, ‘Who We’ve Supported (2013),’ http://promos.stgeorge.com.au/stgeorgefoundation/supported.asp; Telstra Foundation, ‘Everyone Connected Grants Program, September 2012,’ http://www.kidsfund.telstrafoundation.com/dir148/tfweb.nsf/FilesToLinkToLookup/everyoneconnectedgrantrecipients/$FILE/Everyone%20Connected%20Grant%20recipients.pdf; Westpac Foundation, ‘Grant Recipients in 2013,’ http://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/westpac-foundation/grants/grant-recipients-2013/ 15
Ibid. 16
Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18
See YACVic, ‘Philanthropy and youth support in Victoria,’ June 2014 (ministerial briefing) 19
Pamela Lee, ‘Total Value the Key for Workplace Giving,’ ProBono News, 26 March 2014 20
Simon Watts, ‘Volunteering is good for business’, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 May 2014 21
NAB, ‘NAB to deliver $50 million of value to communities through volunteering’, http://www.nab.com.au/about-us/media/media-releases-2014/nab-to-deliver-50-million-of-value-to-communities-through-volunteering
23
YACVic, ‘The corporate sector supporting young people in Victoria’, June 2014
22
Volunteering Victoria, ‘Breaking the Barriers to Corporate Volunteering’, 26 / 3/ 2014, http://volunteeringvictoria.org.au/breaking-barriers-corporate-volunteering/; Volunteering Victoria, ‘Breakfast series launched for volunteering corporates,’ 28/10/2013, http://volunteeringvictoria.org.au/breakfast-series-launched-volunteering-corporates/ 23
Watts, ‘Volunteering is good for business’ 24
Gianni Zappala and Denni Arli, ‘Corporate Community Involvement among leading companies in Australia & New Zealand: Strategy, structure and measurement’, Centre for Social Impact, CSI Issues Paper No. 10, 2010, pp.1-19. See also Louise Lee, Business community partnerships in New Zealand: Understanding experiences of partnership, New Zealand Centre for SME Research, pp.1-20 25
Fiona Taylor, with Lucas Walsh and Roger Holdsworth, Partnerships in the Youth Sector, Melbourne, FYA, 2010, pp.10-33 26
Sheera Bornstein, ‘27 Indicators for Backbone Effectiveness,’ 18 April 2013, FGS Blog http://www.fsg.org/KnowledgeExchange/Blogs/CollectiveImpact.aspx; Mimi Corcoran, Fay Hanleybrown, Adria Steinberg, Kate Tallant, ‘Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth’, FSG, 2012, http://www.fsg.org/tabid/191/ArticleId/735/Default.aspx?srpush=true; Fay Hanleybrown, John Kania and Mark Kramer, ‘Channelling Change: Making Collective Impact Work’, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2012; Ideas, Q&A, Roundtable on Collective Impact, Stanford Social Innovation Review Fall 2012; Lakshmi Iyer, ‘How Do Rural Communities in the U.S. Implement Collective Impact?’, 5 November 2012, FGS Blog ; FGS Blog; John Kania and Mark Kramer, ‘Collective Impact’, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011; Mark Kramer, Marcie Parkhurt, Lalitha Vaidyanathan, ‘Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact’, FSG Social Impact Advisors, 2009; Ellen Martin, ‘Evolving Our Understanding of Backbone Organizations,’ 11 December 2012 FGS Blog; Dawn O’Neil and Kerry Graham, ‘A Reflection: Collective Impact in Australia – 12 months on’, FSG, 16 December 2013; Dawn O’Neil AM and Kerry Graham, ‘How Collective Impact can help Place-Based Politics,’ Pro-Bono News, 13 November 2013; Jennifer Splansky Juster, ‘Mobilizing Resources for the Backbone,’ 22 April 2013, FGS Blog; Shiloh Turner, Katherine Errecart, & Anjali Bhatt, 'Measuring Backbone Contributions to Collective Impact,’ Stanford Social Innovation Review, 3 December 2013); White House Council for Community Solutions, ‘Community Collaboratives Whitepaper’, Corporation for National and Community Service, http://www.serve.gov/new-images/council/pdf/CommunityCollaborativesWhitepaper.pdf 27
Emily Morgan, ‘Woodside Enlists Kramer for Social Change Models’, ProBono News, 29 May 2014 28
Pat Cunningham, ‘Six Top Tips for Getting & Maintaining a Corporate Partnership’, ProBono News, 23 July 2013 29
Mancey and Henry, ‘Mythbusting Not for Profit Partnerships’ 30
YACVic, ‘Youth sector perspectives on business – youth service partnerships,’ October 2012, pp.5-8, and notes from the forum 31
Ibid., pp.9-11, and notes from the forum 32
IBM, ‘Corporate Responsibility’, http://www-07.ibm.com/ibm/au/responsibility/communities/learning/index1.html#Mentoring, and the Smith Family, iTrack, http://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/what-we-do/our-work/at-school/secondary/itrack 33
Southbank Rotary, ‘Rotary Community Service Awards 2012’, http://www.southbank.org.au/news/4776/southbank-rotary-congratulates-the-winners-of-the-third-annual-community-service-awards; Toll, ‘Toll wins community service award for employment program’, and ‘Our community Programs’, http://www.tollgroup.com/news/toll-wins-community-service-award-for-employment-program and http://www.tollgroup.com/community-programs; Whitelion, ‘Whitelion Employment Program,’ ‘Whitelion Employment Program Overview’, and ‘Employment: Employers’ Information Pack,’ http://www.whitelion.asn.au/index.php?sectionID=52&pageID=65 34
Youth Connect, ‘Corporate Sponsorship’, http://www.youthconnect.com.au/support-us/corporate-sponsorship/ 35
Opportunity Nation, Connecting Youth & business: a toolkit for employers, http://www.opportunitynation.org/youthandbusiness/pages/opportunity-youth-business