The Live N Learn Foundation is pleased to announce the successful youth employment mentoring program, Break Through, will be offered to Indigenous people in the communities of La Perouse and Botany. The Live N Learn Foundation and David Puckeridge are partnering with the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council to introduce the Break Through program to assist Indigenous people prepare for work, identify career goals and gain employment. The initiative is a part of the La Perouse Aboriginal Land Council’s employment and economic development plan activity and will be offered with the support of funding from the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) as an Indigenous Employment Program.

“We are excited by this opportunity to offer the successful program to an Indigenous community and are committed to learning how it can be adapted to meet specific needs”, Live N Learn Director Aaron Maher said. “We have worked closely with the community to understand their priorities and see it is an important step for them and for the Live N Learn Foundation as we work to our goal of expanding the scale of our programs”, he said.

The youth employment mentoring approach was developed by the Live N Learn Foundation in 2004 and has proven to be an effective support to youth in Sydney’s south-western region; with approximately 80% of participants gaining employment and 60% undertaking further training in pursuit of career goals. “We are obviously pleased by the job outcomes, but are equally motivated by the personal transformations the program allows”, Live N Learn Foundation Operations Director Helen Gray said. The Live N Learn Foundation participates in the development of new programs or  the establishment of programs to fulfil objectives of alleviating social exclusion. “This new program will give us another chance to develop as we work with community to offer support to Indigenous people in such a distinct location”, she said.

The Live N Learn Foundation is dedicated to assisting young people,  aged 16 to 25, achieve a transition to independence and recognise the importance stable accommodation, achieving education and employment play. “The use of employment mentoring has proven to be a practical way of helping young people overcome barriers to employment and a logical way of engaging local business”, Aaron Maher said. “We see our roles as being to look after business participation and partner with other communities or organisations to make the program more widely accessible”, he said.

More information about the Live N Learn Foundation can be found at www.livenlearn.com.au  youth employment mentoring can be found at www.break-through.com.au.