Shoalhaven job seekers star in video resumes

More than100 job seekers from Mission Australia’s Nowra and Ulladulla Employment Solutions offices have been given the opportunity to promote themselves to businesses using online video resumes.

This DEEWR-approved program is being piloted by Mission Australia in Nowra, NSW, with the potential to be picked up by all Job Service Australia providers.

The digital resumes – provided by Meetseeker – go way beyond the traditional print resume by including a video profile of the job seeker. The result is a resume that conveys the individual’s personality and gives potential employers the flexibility to view and review applicants at their own convenience.

Over the course of three days last week, staff at Mission Australia Employment Solutions Nowra trained job seekers on video presentation and helped them with their hair and make-up before supporting them through the recording process. In addition to the 100 job seekers from Nowra, 10 Ulladulla residents travelled to the office to create personal video profiles.

Once the profiles were loaded onto Meetseeker by our employment advisors, our sales support staff sent the new links to potential employers. Employment Solutions has already received positive feedback from local business, with two job seekers already gaining interviews based on their video resumes.

“This businessperson absolutely loved the concept of Meetseekers because they could hear how the candidate spoke and see how they presented straight away,” said Sharon Webster, JobSeeker Solutions Manager.

Gavin Carboni of Meetseekers also had praise for the way our Employment Solutions staff supported job seekers: “They team did an amazing job empowering the job seekers to believe in themselves enough to record the videos,” Mr Carboni said. “It was overwhelmingly fantastic to work with them and a real pleasure to see the job seekers enjoy themselves.”

Last Thursday’s program launch attracted local media, including WIN TV, who recorded this news item at Youtube.

The South Coast register also reported on the new initiative.

Indigenous Employment Program provides independence and confidence

Nine graduates from a Mission Australia Employment Solutions pre-employment program in the Hunter Valley were recognised this week, at a ceremony to mark the completion of the course.

The graduates have just finished the pre-vocational element of Mission Australia’s Indigenous Employment Program (IEP), which offers indigenous Australians who are looking for work the opportunity to secure a job in the health care or social assistance industries.

The overall objective of IEP is to increase Indigenous Australians employment outcomes and participation in economic activities, contributing to the government's commitment to halving the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment outcomes.

Upper Hunter Mission Australia Business Manager Maree Spokes said the aim was to help participants find a job and develop a career path in positions like nursing, aged and disability care work, residential support work or in the childcare industry.

“We provide four weeks of pre-employment training, which includes a five-day job readiness component and three weeks of industry specific pre-vocational training, as well as first aid training,” Ms Spokes said.

“We are now working with local employers and Mission Australia’s Australian Apprenticeship Centres to line up employment positions for our program participants.”

At Monday’s graduation, the participants were presented with certificates and cut a cake to celebrate the occasion.

Participant Julie Miles said before joining the program she had little motivation, but since completing the course she has gained independence and confidence.

Gold Coast job seekers impress local employers

Fifteen Gold Coast job seekers recently served up a free two-course meal for local employers to showcase a specialised hospitality training course aimed to address skill shortages in the region.

The job seekers, who have undertaken the six-week Certificate II in Hospitality course, have gained skills in front-of-house and back-of-house hospitality operations.

Training was delivered for Mission Australia by Icon Training Academy who saw that the job seekers complete the course with the skills and practical experience necessary to obtain sustainable work in the hospitality industry.
 
In addition to being a course assessment, the two-course meal formed part of the Gold Coast Employer Luncheon event, allowing students to demonstrate their abilities to potential employers.

Over 35 local employers were in attendance, along with Mission Australia Executive Leaders Prins Ralston and Lincoln Hopper, Queensland General Manager Phil Schultz and representatives from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations - who all gave rave reviews on the student's handiwork.

Since then a number of the job seekers have been contacted by employers from the event and have gained full time, sustainable work - two of whom are now working at the prestigious 5-star Marriott Hotel.

Congrats to all the students and training staff for some brilliant results!

Opinion: Wrong sort of record to set on young jobless

Victoria has the highest youth unemployment in the country. Why?

Melbourne's north-west achieved a dubious distinction in the latest unemployment data - it has the worst youth unemployment rate in Victoria.

In the region - bounded by the suburbs of Brunswick, Sunbury and Kalkallo - 55 per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds are not in full-time work or education. Even more concerning, Victoria now has the worst youth unemployment rate in the country at 28 per cent.

And yet the irony is the state continues to deliver some of the best jobs growth in the country.

So what's going on? Why are so many young Victorians out of work - or not in touch with education and training - and why is the situation getting worse?

As politicians and media focus on Australia's ability or luck in avoiding the ravages of the global financial meltdown - and the potential for a new economic boom - it's worth reflecting on how we've allowed a situation like this to develop and what we can do about it.

Historically, young Australians bear a disproportionate burden during economic crises. They also have the least resources to fall back on and are the last to benefit when things pick up.

That's because during a downturn it's the casual, part-time and lower skilled jobs in the labour market - the type of jobs young people rely on - that are first to go and the last to return.

We also know through our research and experience in Melbourne's disadvantaged communities that there is a growing disconnect between labour supply and demand.

Businesses need job-ready applicants with minimal fuss. The steadily rising tide of young job seekers don't have the employability skills required.

Beset by a range of challenges in their families and communities - domestic violence, family conflict and truancy - it's no wonder that youth unemployment is growing and perpetuating a cycle of disadvantage as these young men and women grow up and have children of their own.

How can we start turning things around? A local area-based, employer-first, co-ordinated approach is required that identifies job needs, builds trust with businesses and focuses on transitions to work for young people so they can fill available vacancies.

The jobs are there; we need to make sure that young people have the capacity to take them. The tough news is that building up this sort of approach takes time, perseverance, innovation and resources. The key is integrated programs that offer structured work experience, support to overcome non-vocational barriers, and appropriate training that fill the requirements of local industries.

These young people are not going to be perfect employees immediately. They need to be given an environment to make mistakes, appreciate the value of a wage and receive support from mentors and a new peer group.

Programs that provide all these things, and also link business, training, employment and community service organisations, are not easy, fast or traditional.

One example where it's working is with Jayco, which, along with other Dandenong businesses, has been partnering with Mission Australia to move unemployed young Sudanese men into local jobs - an initiative supported by the Victorian government and two progressive philanthropic trusts, the Felton Bequest and the Bennelong Foundation.

It has been a challenging process but the efforts are starting to bear fruit, as these young job seekers take up positions with Jayco and other local employers and begin their careers.

There's no silver bullet - this particular initiative has taken two years of hard work to put together - but that's the sort of commitment required if we are serious about breaking the back of this problem.

Another approach is the use of social enterprises: projects that combine a commercial business with personal support and training. They are notoriously difficult to get up and running, but over the past three years Mission Australia's Urban Renewal landscaping and construction business has enabled more than 100 early school leavers to enter careers in trades by giving them experience.

Another idea being trialled in Britain is private investors investing in ''social impact bonds''. Such bonds are about attracting non-government investment for community programs that otherwise would not get off the ground for lack of government funding.

Returns for investors come via a proportion of the government funds that are saved from not having to provide a range of other acute related support.

For example, by investing in bonds, businesses could benefit from accessing some of the funds government saves on income support because the young person is now in a job.

It is important to remember we all have a stake in this. Governments can provide the resources and policy settings but businesses, community agencies and individual families need to be prepared to put in the hard graft to arrive at a solution.

The bottom line is our businesses need workers and our young people need to work.

---

Paul Bird is Mission Australia's Victorian state director

This piece was published in The Age on 14th October 2010

---

Six-week course connects job seekers with hospitality industry

Fourteen job seekers in Pialba, Queensland recently graduated from a specialised training course developed by Mission Australia Employment Solutions and Better Development & Training.

The students, who trained in front-of-house and back-of-house hospitality skills for six weeks, now have the skills and practical experience necessary to obtain full-time jobs in the hospitality industry.

Regional Manager for Mission Australia Employment Solutions Mitch Ryder said he is excited for the students that have graduated.

“All students have shown great dedication and commitment to completing this training course,” Mr Ryder said.

“Mission Australia Employment Solutions aims to assist job seekers source quality jobs through employment assistance and training, and we hope this training course has provided all graduates with the skills and confidence necessary to take the next step into employment.

“As the hospitality and tourism industry is one of the key employers in the region, I’m sure the students will be in a great position to capitalise on their newfound skills and find employment.”

---

Mission Australia Employment Solutions national contact phone numbers:

• Mission Australia Employment Solutions - 13 11 24
• Mission Australia Apprenticeship Solutions (Australian Apprenticeships Centres) - 1300 626 227
• Mission Australia Australian Apprenticeships Access Program - 1 300 626 227

---

Opinion: Charities capitalise on business to fight poverty

With over 20,000 homeless people in Victoria, we need to rethink our strategies to combat the rise of poverty in our society.

Whether we like it or not, the gap between those who have and those who have not is growing.

Enter social enterprise – a proven method in the fight against injustice, inequity and disadvantage in communities around the world.

Many charities are using the power of social enterprise to harness commercial businesses as their modus operandi. These businesses are driven not by profit, but by opportunity – giving those without power and voice a chance to participate in on equal terms.

Last week, 600 devoted social innovators from across the globe came to Melbourne to discuss emerging trends, successful models and cutting edge techniques to decrease the rise of poverty throughout the world. These international experts were seeking an innovative marriage of business and charity – the merging of market with social purpose.

Social enterprises unite communities to get a fairer deal. When exploitative factory owners and shopkeepers charged exorbitant prices in England in the industrial revolution 150 years ago, a group of workers established their own shop to provide quality and affordable food to their community and the first social enterprise was born.

Through the support of governments, the last fifteen years has seen a resurgence in social enterprise. The value of social enterprise has been recognised as the combination of local agencies and passionate people understanding local needs. Coupled with an entrepreneurial and creative approach, bit-by-bit these businesses are effectively responding to the needs of disadvantaged communities.

By providing services where little or none existed, social enterprises can give communities the public services it needs. By creating jobs for unemployed people excluded from the labour market due to their low level of educational attainment and life skills, such as early school leavers, social enterprises provide real work experience, training and allow a sustainable pathway to employment.

The most successful economies from around the world have adopted the social enterprise ethos. From coffee to construction, from landscaping to logistics, from packaging to painting, from markets to manufacturing, from recycling to repairs, from nurseries to newspapers, from hotels to health, from gyms to geraniums, from insurance to funeral homes, there are over 55,000 social enterprises in the United Kingdom alone.

The largest credit union in Canada, Vancity Credit Union has 310,000 members and provides financial support to people who have been ignored or forgotten by the larger commercial banks as well as helping charities to build their own asset base.

The world’s largest social enterprise, the Mondragón Corporacion Cooperativa in Spain, comprises 120 companies, employs 42,000 worker-owners, runs 43 schools and one college, generates more than $4.8 billion annually in manufacturing, services, retail and wholesale distribution, and administers more than $5 billion in financial assets.

Over the last ten years in Australia, the South Australian and Victorian Governments have led the recognition and revival of social enterprises, ably assisted by groups that target and sponsor unique and viable social enterprise ideas, like Social Traders.

Initially through training programs, not-for-profit groups such as Mission Australia have set up social enterprises that provide opportunities for disadvantaged and jobless Australians to get a job.

Trainees are offered integrated personal skills development and accredited training that aims to enable the transition to sustainable mainstream employment.

Social enterprises such as the Urban Renewal, a landscaping and construction business, provides an entry to the job market for young people that have limited employment prospects due to poor life and relationship skills, low educational attainment, mental health, drug and alcohol issues.

The life and job skills developed in social enterprises enable the job-seeker to find rewarding and sustainable employment in the long term.

Thanks to dedicated and skilled managers and team leaders, in running businesses such as Urban Renewal and the Charcoal Lane Aboriginal restaurant in Fitzroy, Mission Australia offers quality and value for money services to government and the public. We do not want pity. We want the opportunity to showcase the skills of people who don’t get that opportunity to demonstrate what they’re capable of.

As we reflect on the ways we can seek to draw members of our society out of poverty, Australia must share the faith of this unique marriage of business and charity. But even with the welcome support of the Commonwealth Government through the Jobs Fund initiative, the number of social enterprises in Australia remains relatively small.

In order for Australia to harness the power of social enterprise to provide jobs in our high unemployment and disadvantaged communities and get people off the streets of our cities, regional and rural areas, we need the investment and recurrent assistance from Australian governments and social investors.

Social Enterprise can help create a fairer Australia.

Paul Bird is the Victorian State Director of Mission Australia

Mission Australia opens its doors to the Woodridge community

Mission Australia will officially launch its new Job Services Australia site in the southern Brisbane suburb of Woodridge today.

The opening, to be officiated by Brett Raguse MP, Federal Member for Forde, will celebrate Mission Australia’s commitment to the jobseekers and employers of Woodridge.

Mission Australia Employment Solutions launched the new Woodridge Job Services Australia (JSA) site on 1 July 2009 as a result of the Federal Government’s new JSA scheme, which focuses on a new approach to employment services - tailoring the services offered to the individual jobseeker.

Since opening its doors, Mission Australia’s JSA Woodridge site has helped dozens of local jobseekers find employment in the region.

Mission Australia’s Employment Solutions General Manager QLD, Phil Schultz, said today’s launch reinforced to the local community the commitment of the staff at the Woodridge JSA site to providing the support and guidance required by jobseekers and employers.

“We’re here to help Woodridge’s community by placing as many jobseekers as possible in the job best suited to them,” Mr Schultz said.

“We can offer jobseekers advice on their career options and our employment programs, as well as help them prepare their resumes, enhance their interview techniques and undertake the skill development or professional training they may need to help find and keep a job.

The Woodridge JSA site has so far helped place numerous jobseekers in suitable employment and currently has more than 450 jobseekers on their books.

“We’ve established strong relationships within the Woodridge community and we’re looking forward to building on these relationships to ensure we help as many willing jobseekers as possible.”