Next Steps - Fact Sheet - The Smith Family
Creating better outcomes for disadvantaged Australians
"More than half of all Australians who are unemployed live in a family that is poor, underlying the major relationship between unemployment and poverty." (Financial Disadvantage in Australia 1990 to 2000: The persistence of poverty in a decade of growth, p. 12 A report produced by NATSEM for The Smith Family, 2001).
Research by The Smith Family with the Australian Council for Education Research found that while 70% of disadvantaged students could nominate an occupation they would like to do at the age of 25, a little over 50% indicated that they did not know how to get it (What do students think of work? Are they on the right page?, p. 7, The Smith Family, 2005).
The Smith Family believes in providing extra-curricular opportunities to support school to work transition. Young people need to be supported in their preparation to undertake the transition, so that they have a clearer idea of their abilities and interests, the opportunities available and the pathways needed to take advantage of these opportunities.
What is Next Steps?
Next Steps is a joint initiative of The Smith Family's Learning for Life program and Westpac's People and Performance Group. It is designed to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their confidence and their chances of securing a job.
Next Steps consists of a two-day workshop which includes a virtual job search exercise, aimed at developing students' essential recruitment skills to prepare them for the workforce. As part of the program, participants are assigned a professional coach who provides additional one-on-one instruction giving the students the extra assistance they need to successfully enter the workforce.
How does Next Steps work?
The workshop covers every step of the job seeking process, from reading between the lines of job ads, to making the first phone call, to writing CVs and cover letters.
Students then respond to a virtual job vacancy with their coach in the role of prospective employee. Students write a letter of application, submit a resume, and participate in a virtual interview. They receive feedback from their coach on progress and development throughout the exercise, as well as a detailed response to their performance in the interview.
The findings from the Next Steps evaluation have been remarkably positive, as has feedback from students and coaches alike. The two components of the program enable students to apply what they learned at the workshop in a virtual job searching situation, teaching them invaluable practical lessons in a safe environment.
Feedback
"I thought that we had covered this at school but I learnt heaps of new stuff."
"Thanks to Next Steps I got the next part-time job I applied for ...I was working within two weeks of completing the workshop!"
"I feel more confident after practicing interviews - my coach was so cool and offered me a lot of tips."
"We learnt lots but it was heaps of fun and I made new friends!"
Get involved
The Smith Family are looking for corporate partners to support the facilitation and coaching segments of this program. Please email CPServiceDesk@smithfamily.com.au for more information.
To support programs like Next Steps call 1800 024 069.
