Rebuilding the Career Ladder

Rebuilding the Career Ladder is shifting the national conversation on youth employment to make sure employers are part of the solution.

Impact

Since 2022 we’ve reached over one million employers with key messages about youth employment.
We’ve published insights around labour market trends and economic mobility and amplified young people’s experiences of work through first-of-its-kind research.
We’ve worked with 48 medium to large employers, including KPMG, Visy, Transdev, and Goodman Fielder.
96% of the employers reported developing a better understanding of the challenges that young people face in the labour market.
83% of the employers are piloting inclusive employment practices – expected to affect around 2000 roles in the next 12 months.
Our work is benefiting directly 397 young people and we’re expecting 65 further roles for young people.

Case studies

Gearing up for growth: How 99 Bikes is investing in young talent

A pilot that started small but changed the way a national business thinks about youth employment.

Making council careers possible: How Brimbank Council connected to local youth

A pilot program changing hiring from the inside out.

Sparking opportunities: building inclusive work pathways in events

A business built for fast-paced delivery welcomes and supports young people with disability.

The problem

Today’s young Australians are at risk of becoming the first generation in memory to have lower living standards than their parents, due to rising wealth inequality, the cost of living and a lack of access to quality jobs.

We believe that everyone deserves fulfilling, secure and fairly paid work. But young people in Australia today face challenges establishing their career:

One in four young people in Australia are unemployed or underemployed, often stuck in casual or insecure work without clear career progression.
Youth unemployment (9.7%) is currently more than twice the national average while young people with disability face unemployment rates four times higher than the national average.
There is a persistent gap between employer perceived needs and the skills and experience of young workers, compounded by systemic issues within employment services.

Without access to secure, well-paid work, people don’t have the opportunity to elevate themselves out of lower income earning roles. This can lead to more than underemployment and long-term unemployment.

The solution

The national conversation on youth employment focuses mostly on education, government action or getting young people ‘job-ready’. Getting employersto do things differently is almost never mentioned.

This is what Rebuilding the Career Ladder aims to change.

Rebuilding the Career Ladder is an umbrella program. It covers all the work SVA does to catalyse employers to create better quality career pathways for young people. In particular, it focuses on young people without a university degree.

We operate at a systems level across Australia, partnering with:

all levels of government
national employers, small business and employment bodies
advocacy and service delivery organisations
young people.

We conduct research, run events, change minds and spark conversations about what employers must do so young people aren’t left behind.

How we do it

Rebuilding the Career Ladder’s vision is for employers to create more high-quality jobs for young people at risk of exclusion. To work towards this vision, we:

Working directly with employers to support and enable opportunity enhancing practice changes in their organisations

Contributing to the shared knowledge and capabilities of others working in the field to support effective employer action