Great news! BESTCDG will begin delivering services for the first time in Australia on Monday 21 March. This is CDG’s first contract down under.
BESTCDG will be delivering a unique service to jobless families in Bundaberg, Queensland in partnership with Sarina Russo.
BESTCDG and Sarina Russo won funding through the Innovation Fund, a component of Job Services Australia, the Australian government’s national employment service. The Innovation Fund is designed to address the needs of the most disadvantaged jobseekers by funding projects that foster innovative solutions to overcome the barriers to employment these jobseekers face.
The innovation fund is very competitive, and to win such funding is recognition of the service that BESTCDG and Sarina Russo will deliver together over the next 15 months.
The project is called PATHS (Providing Assistance Through Holistic Servicing).
It is a family case management program designed to support jobless families in Bundaberg to develop pathways to employment and reduce their dependency on welfare.
PATHS will provide tailored, holistic and intensive support for families caught in a cycle of unemployment. It will offer ‘wrap around’ service solutions and will link participants to relevant community, training and employment programs while providing ongoing case management. It will also support a large number of jobless families by offering a pathway to employment.
PATHS will provide the following outcomes for its participants:
• Sustainable employment.
• Training opportunities.
• Mentoring.
• Work experience.
• Pathways to appropriate agencies.
The project will build BESTCDG’s reputation in Australia in the following ways:
• BESTCDG can work effectively with other providers.
• BESTCDG can deliver services to a high standard in disadvantaged regions.
• BESTCDG can deliver services to jobless families successfully.
BESTCDG, in partnership with Sarina Russo, will be delivering a program which, when successful, can be replicated throughout Australian states and territories to meet the needs of jobless families.
The delivery model and results will be communicated to the UK to see if all or part of the program can make a difference to jobless families in the UK.
I will update you on the progress of the program in future blog updates.
Chris Dale, general manager, BEST CDG
