Fatima Halloum
Youth Projects will expand their mental health and employment services to benefit residents in the western suburbs, including those living in Melton.
New hubs were launched on July 1 across the west, in Melton, Sunshine, Hoppers Crossing and more, to help young people enter the workforce.
Youth Projects chief executive Ben Vasiliou said the Transition to Work initiative is “no ordinary jobs program”.
“We are strengths-based and work with young people to help them realise their full potential,” he said.
“Be it study, on the job training, skills certificates, traineeships, apprenticeships – this will all be part of the program.
“We don’t just shove young people into jobs, we know that doesn’t work. Our model sees the whole young person. We look at the social determinants of health to support young people to live healthy, happy and productive lives.”
Since Transition to Work was launched in Northwest Melbourne in 2016, Youth Projects said they have supported 2,160 young people find “meaningful employment and education pathways” and contributed to decreasing the unemployment rate in the region.
“We’re taking our highly successful model from the north-west of Melbourne to the west. We’ll meet young people where they’re at and provide the opportunities they desperately need right now,” Mr Vasiliou said.
“Now it’s up to us to make serious inroads in the youth disengagement and unemployment rates across Western Melbourne…young people in the west of Melbourne need us most right now, and we aren’t going to sit around waiting for them to find us.”
Youth Projects have launched eight hubs across the west so far and have plans to expand where they deem their services are needed over the coming months and years.
