Close Menu
  • Consulting
  • Impact Investing
  • Programs & Ventures
  • Learning & Insights
  • About SVA
  • Give to SVA
  • Careers
  • Team
  • Contact
Subscribe
Social Ventures Australia Close Search
  • Mental Health Perspective Paper
  • Bright Spots Schools Connection
  • Donate
  • CEO
  • Evidence for Learning (E4L)
  • Goodstart
  • Jobs at SVA
  • Our People
  • Social Impact Bonds
  • SVA Quarterly
  • Suzie Riddell
Social Ventures Australia

Social Ventures Australia

Search Trigger Menu
Social Ventures Australia

Social Ventures Australia

Search Trigger Menu
Industry Employment Initiative

Home > Work > Industry Employment Initiative

Industry Employment Initiative

The national unemployment rate in Australia equates to more than 700,000 people actively seeking work.

The Industry Employment Initiative (IEI) seeks to improve outcomes for job seekers at risk of or experiencing long term unemployment by engaging employers in the design of training and employment pathways.

The IEI is a demand-led employment model that meets the recruitment needs of large employers while improving outcomes for job seekers experiencing disadvantage. The unique model positions SVA as an intermediary between Jobs Victoria as the funder, Jesuit Social Services as the service provider, and large employer partners with a recruitment need.

Watch this short video explaining the IEI program:

Goal of SVA partnership

SVA is working to improve collaboration and communication between employers, employment agencies and service providers in order to improve outcomes for job seekers. Lessons from the project are forming an evidence base for reform of the national job services system to better meet the needs of both employers and long-term job seekers.

What the IEI provides

Working directly with national employers the IEI job seekers are provided with bespoke training, work placements and wrap-around support to support their transition into stable and sustainable employment. The IEI presents an opportunity for employers to:

  • Create or extend demand-led programs into reliable training, support and recruitment pipelines
  • Identify potential adjustments to internal policies and practices
  • Position their business at the forefront of innovative recruitment practices
  • Increase the diversity of their workforce
  • Demonstrate a commitment to helping young people break the cycle of long-term unemployment.

‘It’s a more practical way of getting people into the business who genuinely want to work.’ ‘The entire team and all partners were extremely passionate about it and the level of support to the program and candidates was considerable. The pre-vocational training, I’d never see that done before. It was very helpful.’

– IEI Employer 2017

The IEI is seeking corporate partners to participate in the IEI to:

  • Contribute to the design of a tailored employment pathway
  • Provide work placements that, if successfully completed, have direct line-of-sight to a job
  • Provide outcome data and feedback on the IEI model and contribute to developing best practice demand-led employment programs.

SVA support

The IEI & Jobs Victoria

Jobs Victoria is the Victorian Government’s major initiative to help disadvantaged jobseekers gain employment in Victoria. Jobs Victoria initiatives are being delivered by specialist employment experts who work closely with employers to identify job opportunities and prepare job seekers.

As a Jobs Victoria partner, the IEI, led by Social Ventures Australia (SVA) in partnership with Jesuit Social Services and support from the Business Council of Australia is helping unlock new potential employment opportunities.

Target CohortPrimary focus:

  • Young people (18-24)
  • Long-term unemployed
  • At risk of long-term unemployment

Programs to date have engaged young people with a range of barriers and from varied backgrounds. Throughout this contract, the IEI will seek to expand to additional target cohorts, matching candidates to suitable roles.


Employment FocusThe IEI focuses on three target industries:

  • Hospitality, including hotels
  • Retail, including supermarkets
  • Early Childhood Learning

Employers from targeted industries are engaged to identify and commit available roles to the program, supporting candidates whose aspirations align with those roles through structured training and into employment.


LocationsThe IEI is contracted to deliver Jobs Victoria tailored services across Victoria.

Program locations are determined in consultation with employers, aligning recruitment and training with their workforce needs. Existing program locations have included Melbourne Metro & Western Region.


 

Case study - What does getting a job mean to a long-term job seeker?

‘It’s meant I’ve got a reason to get out of bed every day,’ Bill* says. There are many contributing factors to long-term unemployment. Many people have little work experience; they face additional challenges as a result of extended exclusion from the labour market including low self-confidence and limited work skills. Skills and confidence are the keys to employment and both are elements addressed by the Industry Employment Initiative (IEI). For Bill, the opportunity afforded by the IEI was a job in hospitality, at a Melbourne-based hotel of a global brand.

Bill participated in a three-week bespoke training program co-designed by the employer and the IEI. This program helped build his confidence, taught him industry-based content that was relevant to the role on offer and included a personal presentation and grooming module which ensured that he met the five-star standards of the hotel. It’s the first real support, Bill says, that he received during his period of unemployment. His prior experience with job agencies had him doing little more than applying for jobs. ‘It’s 100% better. I’d rather do (training) than spend a month with no job,’ he says. A representative from one of the National IEI employer partners says that the IEI gives companies the confidence to look beyond a candidate’s lack of experience.

*The name of the IEI participant has been changed to respect their privacy.

The IEI Youth Pilot (2014-2016)

In 2014 Social Ventures Australia,  Jesuit Social Services, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Mission Australia, with support from the Business Council of Australia formed a consortium to prototype an employment model to meet the recruitment needs of national employers while improving outcomes for long-term unemployed jobseekers.

Made possible by philanthropy, the IEI Youth Pilot (2014-2016) was premised on deep employer engagement to bridge the gap between national employers who have vacancies and long-term unemployed jobseekers who are willing and able to work.

Working with employers from around Australia, the IEI engaged organisations who were committed to creating opportunities for disadvantaged jobseekers whilst fulfilling their recruitment needs. Long term unemployed young people were trained with line of sight to a job, gaining employment in nine hotels around the country, thirteen Goodstart Early Learning centres across two states and twelve Coles stores around Victoria.

Share LinkedinFacebookTwitterEmail

Key contacts

  • David Williams

    Executive Director, Ventures and Partnerships

You might also be interested in…

Related work

  • Youth Employment Report

    The Fundamental Principles for Youth Employment Report identifies ten fundamental principles which are essential to effectively support young people into employment.

Related News

  • Today the Victorian Government announced a major milestone for its flagship Jobs Victoria Employment Network (JVEN) initiative with more than 1,000 Victorian jobseekers successfully placed into employment in the first eight months.

From the SVA Quarterly

  • Tailoring for individual needs in school transitions

    A case study about tailoring the universally-offered careers curriculum to meet the needs of individuals.
  • Lessons from incubating a new model for tackling unemployment

    Incubating the Industry Employment Initiative highlighted the importance of knowing your endgame, evaluating to improve rather than prove, and of strategic funders who are willing to take risks. + Podcast

From the blog…

  • In 2015, providers who have secured 2015-2020 employment services contracts will have to hit the ground running on new employer engagement obligations and, promisingly, many have committed to using demand-led strategies. Here are some of the lessons that the IEI team has learned to date.

Back to top
Social Ventures Australia

Subscribe for insights and news from SVA and across the social sector

X Do not show this window again.

First Nations peoples should be aware that this website may contain the images, voices or names of people who have passed away.

Accept & continue
Social Ventures Australia

© 2021 Social Ventures Australia.

All rights reserved. Privacy Policy

Whistleblowing Policy

  • Consulting
    • Approach
    • Case studies
    • Consulting team
  • Impact Investing
    • Social Impact Bonds
    • Social impact funds
    • Impact Investing team
  • Programs and Ventures
    • Information for funders
    • Bright Spots Schools Connection
  • Learning & Insights
    • SVA Quarterly
    • Policy and advocacy
    • SVA Fundamentals for Impact
    • Blog
    • News
    • Subscribe
  • About SVA
    • Team
    • Board and governance
    • Careers
    • Contact
    • Media
    • Financials
    • Donate
    • SVA Champions Network
    • Reconciliation Action Plan
  • Our work in
    • Education
    • Employment
    • First Nations
    • Housing
    • Disability
    • Mental Health
Linkedin Facebook Twitter YouTube Soundcloud
Contact us

Social Ventures Australia acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present, and emerging. We also accept the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart to walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.