Indigenous Employment Program (IEP)

1. Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

2. COAG National Agenda • Halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2018. • Close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within a generation. • Halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five by 2018. • Ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four year olds in remote communities by 2013. • Halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievement for Indigenous children by 2018. • Halve the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates by 2020.

3. DEEWR’s Role • Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) • Job Services Australia (JSA) • Employment Pathway Fund (EPF) • Indigenous Wage Subsidy (IWS) • Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) • Language Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) • Indigenous Education Programs • Indigenous Youth Mobility Program (IYMP) • Parent and Community Engagement (PaCE) • Supplementary Recurrent Assistance (SRA) • Community Festivals • www.deewr.gov.au

4. IEP - Objective • Encourage and support employers to provide sustainable employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians. • Encourage and support Indigenous Australians to take up training and employment opportunities, stay in jobs and enhance their future employment prospects. • Assist Indigenous communities, industry bodies and groups of employers to develop Indigenous workforce and economic development strategies that support local and regional economic growth, or • Assist Indigenous Australians to develop sustainable businesses and economic opportunities in urban, regional and remote areas.

5. IEP - Panels • The Employment Panel. • Equips employers with the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary to provide sustainable employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians, and • Prepares Indigenous Australians to take up employment opportunities, stay in jobs and enhance their future employment prospects. • The Economic Development and Business Support Panel. • Providing strategies or services for building economic and business development opportunities for Indigenous Australians • Activities that support viable business development, and • Financial strategies or services for businesses and Indigenous organisations.

6. IEP – Priorities • Result in ongoing jobs • Support employers who have not previously employed Indigenous Australian workers • Target unemployed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders • Support business and economic development in limited labour markets • Support employers engaged with the AEC, or • Deliver training that results in ongoing jobs.

7. IEP – What is unlikely to be funded • Funding resulting in a position being 100% subsidised • Projects that incur a cost to the Indigenous participants • Work undertaken prior to a contract being executed by the department • Projects that replace or duplicate funding from other Australian, State, Territory or Local Government Agencies or Programs. • Positions in organisations that another Government department or organisation has been funding but is no longer funding • Support for existing employees unless the support results in improved employment outcomes • Recurrent funding for the same project • Purchasing major assets like business premises or vehicles • Overseas travel, training or conferences, or funding advisers or trainers brought from overseas • The set up or normal running costs of a business. This includes wages, vehicles, equipment and raw materials, and • Projects where the principal objective is to increase school retention with no link to employment (state government education systems receive funding to support school retention activities).

8. IEP – Employment • Aspiration Building • Training • Employer Support, and • Workforce Development • Employer specific Indigenous employment and retention strategies • Job placement • Work related training • Mentoring that can assist with getting and/or keeping a job • Wage subsidies • Voluntary mobility assistance for employees • Cadetships support • Cross-cultural awareness training including in recruitment and workplace practices • Training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in human resource management • Marketing information sessions, or • Engagement with schools

9. IEP – Employment Activity Example

10. IEP – Economic Development and Business Support • Business capacity building services such as financial literacy and management training • Business development and support services such as feasibility studies and business plans • Business readiness and capacity assessment • Business mentoring; including business-to-business mentoring • Economic Development Officers (EDO) and • Business facilitation projects

11. IEP - Economic Development and Business Support Example • Business Readiness and Capacity Assessment Project • Aim • To provide business support to individuals with a business concept that requires assistance to explore and develop. • Considerations • The project will assist individuals to determine their capacity for small self-employment and/or business partnership. • A scoping stage can be built into the project to identify if the business concept is a viable business opportunity. • Facilitates or provides financial literacy training. • Provides a referral to grants or facilitates access to commercial finance. • There should be a focus on skills transfer to increase sustainability for the future. • Cost • May need to approach the market through a Request for Quotation process to explore value for money and most appropriate provider.

12. IEP – General Contracting Process • Assessment of Application • Negotiation on Terms and Conditions • Negotiation on Project Costs • Risk Assessment Completed • Financial Viability and Credentiality Check Completed • Delegate Approval • Contract Signed • Monitoring Contract • Finalising Contract

13. Questions • www.deewr.gov.au