JOB SERVICES AUSTRALIA (JSA)LEARNING LESSONS FROM THEINNOVATION FUND (IF)

Overview of the Innovation FundThe Australian Government invests around $10 billion over a four year cycle in employment service programs such as Job Services Australia, Disability Employment Services and the new Remote Jobs and Communities Program.

Through a number of trials and pilot programs, the Government has been investing in new ways to deliver employment services. One of these programs was the Innovation Fund. The $41 million Innovation Fund was a competitive grants program implemented from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2012. A component of JSA, it was introduced to capitalise and learn from innovation in service delivery practices and thus inform future policy development. It commenced at the same time as the new JSA employment services system in July 2009. The JSA model represented a significant reform to previous employment services models.

The Innovation Fund was designed to develop solutions that would assist highly disadvantaged job seekers to overcome multiple barriers to employment. These job seekers included homeless job seekers, or those at risk of homelessness, people with disability including mental illness, people from jobless families, those in areas of entrenched disadvantage, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Innovation Fund also supported the Government’s social inclusion agenda by providing opportunities for disadvantaged Australians to participate more fully in society.

Over a three year period (1 July 2009 – 30 June 2012), it funded a total of 83 projects across Australia. A range of organisations delivered the projects, including employment service providers, social enterprises and community organisations. A diverse range of projects were funded under the program, including:

Establishing wrap-around service solutions (e.g. health, mental health, drug and alcohol services, dentists, childcare providers, preschools and schools, language and cultural organisations, local government, business, housing and homelessness services);

Integrated services for disadvantaged job seekers including projects that improve information sharing between services that assist job seekers;

Mentoring groups of job seekers with common/specific barriers to employment; Establishing social enterprises; and Projects to link disadvantaged job seekers with areas of skill shortage.

Under the Innovation Fund, each project varied based on the objective of the project and the barriers to employment which the job seekers faced. Assistance was provided to a diverse range of highly disadvantaged people with a diverse range of needs and who faced many differing circumstances.

Over the course of three years the Innovation Fund assisted over 13,300 participants with more than 4,300 jobs, 6,400 training outcomes, 1,900 work experience placements and 5,000 mentoring opportunities.

Learnings and observations of the Innovation Fund projects were applied in the design and funding of the JSA Demonstration Pilots as the next stage in a process of continuous improvement and innovation in employment service delivery.

As part of the Building Australia’s Future Workforce package in the 2011-12 Budget, the Government announced $4.7 million towards the Job Services Australia (JSA) Demonstration Pilots. The primary objective of the initiative is to demonstrate how enhancements to current service delivery arrangements for Stream 4 in JSA can be used to achieve improved employment and education outcomes for highly disadvantaged job seekers.

The pilots have specifically focussed their objectives to examining potential enhancement to Stream 4 services, including the testing and costing of alternative approaches to coordinating complementary non-vocational services for highly disadvantaged job seekers. Funding for the Pilot projects is also restricted to high performing JSA providers who were invited to submit proposals. Pilot projects are further targeted by being located in areas of disadvantage, including Priority Employment Areas.

Key Learnings

Two reviews of the Innovation Fund were undertaken. DEEWR engaged social research company Colmar Brunton to review 12 projects covering a range of project types, job seeker cohorts and levels of success. DEEWR selected the 12 projects for inclusion in the review. In addition, DEEWR undertook an internal analysis of all 83 projects based on the individual evaluations sent in by proponents.

DEEWR’s internal review supported the findings from the Colmar Brunton report and expanded the issues in line with themes relevant to future employment services delivery. The reviews identified common learnings that were seen to contribute to success of the projects and could be considered in light of future employment services design and delivery.

Wrap around servicing/integrated service modelsHighly disadvantaged job seekers face multiple barriers to employment that are often mutually reinforcing; research suggests that these job seekers benefit from wrap around or holistic servicing. Wrap around servicing requires a range of agencies to work together in partnership to provide the level of support needed by job seekers.

A number of projects emphasised a correlation between the self-esteem and self-confidence of a job seeker and the likelihood of them getting a job. Having an ‘action plan’, owned by the job seekers, which outlines the job seekers’ goals and the pathway to achieving those goals was one way proponents bolstered the self-efficacy and self-esteem of job seekers.

Innovation Fund proponents suggested that increased time and effort is required to provide the right mix of services to highly disadvantaged job seekers which means staff must have smaller caseloads in order to provide the intensity of services required.

The expertise and commitment of staff, and a sound understanding of their client group and individuals within that client group, was considered to be a determinant of the success of Innovation Fund projects by proponents.

A clear focus on employment outcomes rather than a focus on overcoming barriers was seen by several projects as crucial to their success.

Strong employer engagement strategies where the employer is involved in the design and delivery of the training, work experience, and on the job training leading to job offers were seen by some projects as key to their success. Providers that design interventions and training for job seekers that meet the skill requirements of local employers are likely to get better outcomes for their job seekers. Involving employers early in projects ensures that they have buy-in and confidence in the process.

Intensive post placement support for both job seekers and employers was seen a strength in a number of Innovation Fund projects. The value of putting people in to work and continuing to provide intensive and regular wrap around support to the new employee, and providing support to the employer to put strategies in place to deal with any issues/behaviours of the new employee were considered to be effective strategies to help job placements ‘stick’. In addition, encouraging employers to run workplace mentoring programs also contributed to retention of their employees.

Social enterprisesSocial Enterprises have a challenging task to balance their business and social imperatives. Having clear and realistic goals, sufficient time to set up a business, good business planning practices in the early stages and the right structures in place to monitor the business were recommended by Innovation Fund proponents to address the balancing issue. Through knowledge of the labour market and engaging employers Innovation Fund projects were able to open up a wider scope of sustainable employment options for their participants.

Innovation Fund Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) social enterprises found success by teaching employability skills on the job with working conditions as close to that of the open labour market as possible.

Having a transition plan that includes strong post placement support is beneficial to ensure progress when a job seeker is placed into a job.

Good staff and dedicated management are vital to the success of a social enterprise; staff need expertise in working towards employment outcomes for disadvantaged jobseekers and expertise in the relevant industry. Management structures need to support them in this endeavour.

Partnerships with other organisations, particularly those with local industry knowledge, employers and the community are vital in ensuring the sustainability of the enterprise.

Key Strategies UtilisedParticipant Assessments

A strategy across Innovation Fund projects was to enhance the initial assessment to better understand barriers facing job seekers and also the strengths of job seekers at the outset. A strengths-based assessment approach can build the job seeker’s motivation and confidence. For example, O Group Inc., Tasmanian Pulp and Forest Workers Assistance Project (an Innovation Fund pilot) noted that a competencies assessment bolstered the confidence of redundant workers by highlighting their skills and strengths.

Engaging Participants

Innovation Fund projects indicated that a strong case plan and clear goals were elements of their success. The plan itself was used as an engagement tool to foster and strengthen relationships between the job seeker and the case worker (or provider of support). It included clear goals. Allowing job seekers to co-design their plan was reported by a number of Innovation Fund projects as a strategy that encouraged greater ownership and responsibility among job seekers. It also helped encourage disclosure, and therefore the tailoring of appropriate interventions.

Innovation Fund projects, particularly those targeting young or homeless job seekers, successfully used outreach strategies to locate job seekers who may have ‘fallen through the cracks’. Outreach occurred at youth centres, cafes, parks and shopping centres.

Servicing Participants

Case plans were also used in Innovation Fund projects to support co-case management and joint servicing arrangements. This approach requires strong partnerships with other organisations. Feedback across the Innovation Fund was that engaging with external parties and building relationships is time-intensive, though essential to success. It can take multiple attempts and relies on being well integrated in the community. Engaging local partners through a governance structure (such as a steering committee) was seen to enhance collaboration and helped with the delivery of wrap-around services.

Some providers formalised agreements though Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), while others were less formal. There did not appear to be a one-size-fits all approach, although MOUs appeared particularly useful where money was involved. Successful partnerships require both parties to try to understand and appreciate the other parties’ world. One of the biggest challenges reported was around finding the time for specialist practitioners to be involved in regular meetings.

Innovation Fund projects noted the importance of post-placement support strategies in achieving sustained employment outcomes. For example, ORS Rehabilitation and Placement Services Pty Ltd (Fit for the Job Clinic, Bankstown) employed a registered psychologist to deliver regular and intensive post-placement support to job seekers and their employers. The psychologist provided counselling, onsite support, employer mediation and referral to other services as required.

Mentoring

Mentoring was reported as being beneficial when provided with a range of other personal and vocational supports. However, it was often not seen as a sufficient intervention by itself to overcome the barriers to employment highly disadvantaged job seekers face. Once placed in a job, having the employer provide mentoring or some other support to the job seeker often helped to improve the sustainability of their employment.

Training

A number of Innovation Fund projects across project types found that having flexibility in training (mode, duration and medium), and developing transferable skills, was more likely to retain motivation of job seekers and produce job outcomes. This was particularly the case for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) participants’ literacy skills.

Relationships

Innovation Fund projects experience supported other evidence that shows that collaboration with employers, stakeholders and the community is important in helping disadvantaged job seekers on their pathway to employment. Investments of time, energy and funds are required to create and sustain these relationships.

Relationships - EmployersAcross the Innovation Fund, employers were invited to interact with project participants. The experience of the projects confirmed that providers who design interventions and training for job seekers that meet the skill requirements of local employers are likely to get better outcomes for their job seekers. Examples of this approach include:

Workfocus Australia (What it does Take project) who partnered with a large, high profile retail employer. The employer sat on the project steering committee to inform the project focus and direction.

Community Bridging Services (CBS) Inc. YEP110 employment program involved the collaboration of a private retail employer, a youth development agency, and an employment agency. This model saw young people placed in jobs and supported. It was noted that the organisations developed a trusting and secure partnership with regular meetings between the CEOs.

Employment Service Providers

It was a program requirement that, if proponents were not employment services providers, they had to engage with at least one of these providers to target job seekers eligible for assistance from employment services. Some proponents raised concerns that they had difficulty engaging and sustaining providers’ interest in the project.

While no evidence was presented, Innovation Fund proponents suggested that this may be an unintended impact of competitive employment services system that was seen as discouraging providers from working with each other. Some of the strategies employed to engage employment service providers were sustained and persistent marketing, building on existing relationships, and a co-case management approach to servicing job seekers.

Organisational support

Support from the CEO or Management Champions was beneficial for projects in that they ensured that the projects had the requisite support, resources and profile to deliver outcomes.

Location

Location and place were noted in reference to enhanced understanding of the local labour market and local employers’ needs; however, some projects did reference difficulties in coordinating services once a geographic area got too big and that maintaining a myriad of relationships once an area got too big was an onerous task.

Conclusion

Innovation Fund projects demonstrated what can be achieved when holistic case management and integrated services are provided to disadvantaged job seekers. The project funding allowed flexible and innovative approaches to be trialed and enabled project staff in a range of circumstances, to work closely with participants through the provision of pre vocational, employment and additional services relevant to their individual circumstances and complex needs. Stakeholders identified that the projects were often the catalyst for the development of stronger relationships with complementary service providers or social support networks in their region, which was critical in the provision of holistic case management approaches. Encouragingly, stakeholders indicated such relationships will likely continue beyond the funding period for the continued benefit of disadvantaged job seekers.

The learnings from these wide ranging projects and proponents have also guided the further development of service delivery models through the JSA Demonstration Pilots for testing and costing within the employment services system. The learnings from both the Innovation Fund and the JSA Demonstration Pilots are informing the development of the future employment services system.