About Us
We are a network of Transition to Work providers from around Australia, who are working collaboratively to create a better offer for young people
Transition to Work is a national, federally funded service targeted at 15- to 24-year-olds who are unemployed. Established in 2016, the Transition to Work National Community of Practice brings together 11 Transition to Work providers and their partners in 13 regions around Australia, who are implementing a consistent and collaborative approach to the delivery of the TtW service. The TtW CoP is working to achieve positive and improved outcomes for young Australians who are at risk of not making a successful transition to meaningful employment.
Our approach
The TtW CoP Model offers young people what they most need to move into work: personal, social and practical employability skills, and opportunities to explore the world of work, build networks and gain the experience that employers value.
With this Model, we commit to working in a different way. We collaborate with local community agencies rather than competing with them, in order to test, improve and demonstrate a mutually beneficial model that moves young unemployed people into sustainable employment pathways.
Its delivery is underpinned by Advantaged Thinking, an approach adopted from the UK Foyer movement. Advantaged Thinking guides the way we work with young people – to move away from deficit, disadvantaged or problem-focused thinking, towards jointly creating real jobs, real education and real community connections.
The TtW CoP also seeks to promote a shift in the way the community values young people – from passive service recipients to valuable, contributing members of the community – by harnessing community investment. This is a way of working in partnership with government, business, community organisations, philanthropy and education providers to deliver the opportunities, networks and resources that young people need. In doing so, we draw on the expertise, knowledge, contributions and existing work of the community and build on, rather than duplicate, community assets.
Community investment is being harnessed through partnerships, and the formation of local Community Investment Committees, which bring together key sectors to leverage networks and collaborate to build place-based solutions to address youth unemployment. Local effort is also linked to activities and investment at a national level, through our National Employers Reference Group, to inform a more coordinated approach to youth employment.
An evaluation of the TtW CoP’s work published in March 2020 found that services following the model closely were more likely to meet or surpass government targets for education and employers. The evaluation, undertaken by the Brotherhood of St Laurence with the University of Melbourne, also found that the two core concepts of Advantaged Thinking and harnessing community investment drove these successful outcomes.