Teens to 25’s Careers, Training and Employment Hub
Posted on July 13th, 2022
John Fitzgerald, the Job Seeker Officer for the Back to Work program in Central Queensland/Fitzroy Region, is based in Rockhampton and services from Miriam Vale/Agnes Water in the south to St Lawrence in the north and out to the Queensland/Northern Territory border in the west.
John has secured office and training space in close proximity to the Rockhampton CBD which should be fully functional by late July early August. With this space he is setting up a Teens to 25’s Careers, Employment and Training Hub as a one stop space for the cohort to gather information that may not be sourced elsewhere. This hub will also be accessible for all Back to Work Targeted Cohorts.
He would like to encourage business and industry representatives to use the hub to deliver information sessions or display workforce information relevant to their industry.
John hopes this space will be of value to anyone that would like to use it for its intended purpose.
Back to Work Program
The Back to Work Program has undergone significant change over the last 12 months with the introduction of the Pre-employment program, which includes the use of the ‘Discover my Career’ Harrison’s Work Preference questionnaire.
Under the revitalised Back to Work program, eligible jobseekers can receive support from Jobseeker Officers to understand their individual career goals, employment pathways and develop a plan for the future.
Available supports include:
- Personal goal setting
- Resume writing, interview skills and online profile assistance (Workshops or One on One)
- Understanding how to navigate the local job market
- Harrison Career Assessment Tool (Back to Work Pre-Employment Program) subsequent reports determine Career Options as it measures 175 factors in an in-depth analysis of an individual’s interests, task preferences, strengths, potential de-railers, motivation, interpersonal preferences and work environment preferences to guide jobseekers towards a career that suits their strengths.
John’s role is diverse and strongly focusses on the implementation of the Harrison Assessments, navigating the VET Sector for subsidised training for job seekers and those who could be ‘at risk’. Supporting job seekers in regards to their job search, recruitment and anything career, employment and training focussed.
Back to Work Targeted Cohort is Recognised as but not limited to:
- Young People 15 – 25 Years of Age
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
- People with a Disability
- Long term unemployed (unemployed for 52 weeks or more)
The Back to Work team also supports Business and Industry – Visit the Back to Work website for more information: – Pre-employment Support Program (PEP) – Back to Work (initiatives.qld.gov.au)
Business and Industry Involvement
Two key components aim at ensuring business and industry are provided with alternative measures and retention strategies to compliment sustainability in employment.
These include:
- Targeted survey This survey aims to identify a number of issues and barriers that impact on employing targeted cohorts who could be exposed to a number of issues that may impact on employment and, therefore, retention
- Implementation of Harrison Assessments as a retention tool for SME’s.
Understanding business and industry needs is essential to the success and sustainability of the Teens to 25’s Hub. It is imperative these needs are met by strong and effective employment and retention strategies. To combat underlying issues and to look at moving forward there is a need to identify perceptions and experiences in business situations in regards to employing marginalised cohorts. These could then be acted upon and support for businesses tailored to meet their needs.
If your business would like to provide value-add to this program by participating in the survey please click on the following link to view my availability to discuss the survey or perhaps run information sessions relative to employment and training – https://calendly.com/john-fitzgerald-3/business-survey. There are 12 questions and some with a suite of sub questions in the survey.
