FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says the Government’s new Transition to Work programme has reached a major milestone – calling for local employment agencies to provide feedback on the proposed service.
“Young Australians who leave school early are most at risk of long-term unemployment and need more support than other job seekers to move into work or re-engage with education,” said Mr Entsch.
“They need the right assistance and encouragement to learn new skills, become job ready, get a job and stay in a job.
“The Transition to Work programme is our proposed solution, and is the centrepiece of the Federal Government’s $331 million Youth Employment Strategy announced in this year’s Budget.”
Mr Entsch said the service would provide an upfront payment to employment agencies to ensure that young people receive the right help quickly, to improve their chances of getting an interview and finding a job.
“In return for the upfront payment, local employment agencies will be required to achieve a minimum number of 12 week employment or education outcomes for young job seekers each year in their employment region,” he said.
“In addition, there will be two further payments to encourage even higher levels of performance from the providers – the first is a bonus payment for every 12 week outcome achieved above the performance target and the second is for every 26 week employment outcome achieved.
“We consider that this arrangement will encourage quality service delivery and minimise red tape for employment providers, while also keeping the focus on results for our young people.”
Mr Entsch encouraged local employment agencies to review the Exposure Draft of the Request for Proposal for the new Transition to Work 2016-20, and provide feedback and comments before Tuesday 6 October 2015. The document is available on the AusTender website at www.tenders.gov.au. A high-level summary of the proposed model is available at www.employment.gov.au.
“The Government is also keen to encourage partnerships and consortia arrangements amongst interested organisations to maximise access to services for young people and innovation in service delivery,” said Mr Entsch.
