Workforce Development
Developing and supporting strategies that will lead to a skilled local workforce with more young Central Australians employed in the public and private sectors.
The NT Government is continuing to invest in training and employment initiatives through Jobs Plan III, which will help people in the Alice Springs region gain employment and support local employers in their efforts to find skilled workers.
In the first instance, this project will develop a Youth Employment Strategy Framework that will enable a coordinated and targeted approach to increasing employment outcomes for young people in Alice Springs, particularly Indigenous young people. It will ultimately be part of a Workforce Development Plan for the Alice Springs region.
At the same time as the Youth Employment Strategy Framework is being developed, an Indigenous Education Strategy is being designed and implemented to strengthen the capacity of our young people to transition successfully from school to work. This strategy is focused on improving enrolment, attendance, retention and achievement of Indigenous school-age students, so that they have the education required to take up jobs, training and higher education.
How it will happen
- Finalising and implementing the Alice Springs Indigenous Education Strategy.
- Preparing a comprehensive profile of local school-to-work, training and employment effort, issues and opportunities.
- Identifying good practice in youth employment. This will include researching successful programs that overcome barriers to youth employment.
- Identifying and implementing ways existing programs could be improved and new initiatives that could be piloted.
- Publishing the Alice Springs Youth Employment Strategy Framework.
What it will mean
For residents
- More young people getting jobs and having good future prospects.
- Living in a town with a better social and economic future.
For business
- Being able to recruit staff locally from a larger and more job-ready workforce.
- Being able to employ local workers who are more likely to stay.
What we have already done
- Worked with key stakeholders to identify action areas for the Indigenous Education Strategy.
- Established the Alice Springs Football Academy in partnership with the Australian Government and the Clontarf Foundation. This program uses football as an incentive for Indigenous young men to come to school and continue their education and get a job.
- Established a Partnerships for Success program in collaboration with the Australian Government, the Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation and CentreCorp. This program is an education support program that helps Indigenous students in secondary schools to achieve their NTCE and to access further training, tertiary studies and employment.
What will happen next
- Key stakeholders will be invited to participate in a round table in May 2007 to discuss youth employment opportunities and issues and ways to address them.
- A working group to progress development of the Youth Employment Strategy Framework will be established after this round table.
For more information
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