1. Demand Led Indigenous Employment: Generation One and the Australian Employment Covenant Emily Crawford Associate, Inclusion

2. UK Relevance Responsive to employers and exclusively demand led. The scale and ambition of the project and how it has drawn in business chiefs and a commitment from Government. Links into current something-for-something welfare debates. Some parallels in intergenerational exclusion.

3. Comparative participation rates Participation in work or study, 15-24 years Indigenous: 54% Non Indigenous: 83% (ABS data, 2008)

4. Year 12 completion rates

5. The mainstream response Raft of programmes: – Indigenous Employment Programme – Community Development Employment Projects – Mainstream Job Services Australia provision – Indigenous Youth Careers Pathways Program – State government programmes Critique: disconnect between jobs available, skills required and training offered

7. The Covenant: scale and ambition Create demand for Aboriginal labour Achieve a pledge of 50,000 jobs by 2010 This is about half the total number unemployed Indigenous people “Prepare Indigenous jobseekers for jobs that exist, and support only the models of employer-directed training. Training in isolation to the jobs market is futile.”

8. The Covenant: achievements Over 60,000 jobs committed (10,000 over target) Over 330 employers are now involved 71% retention rate to 6 months Secured Australian Government support in training, referral & placement and tracking Gillard Government undertaking a review of funding and assessment of Indigenous Employment Programme to be more responsive Set the agenda for Indigenous employment being taken seriously

9. The Covenant: challenges Only 12,000 jobs have been filled over 4 years, out of committed >60,000 Very high cost per job Maximising the current publicly funded skills and training infrastructure & resources – Complaint that the Australian Government has not supported the initiative – Running in parallel, potential duplication

10. What can we learn? Action outside the government sector can be effective. Industry led initiatives can be more fleet footed. Very senior business leaders buying into the concept, through following their peers (and genuine commitment), is vital. A truly demand-led system is possible.... Up to a point! Systematising responsiveness remains a challenge. – UKCES Employer Ownership of Skills Pilots The wider economy & labour market