Work Foundations
Through a unique aggregator model we’re bringing together organisations to create jobs and build the evidence for what works.
Building evidence
alongside impact
In a unique role as a national aggregator, White Box is working with eight social enterprises and values-led employers to support people into real jobs while capturing collective data on what works, what it costs, and what leads to sustainable employment outcomes.
“As the federal government redesigns its
employment services system, WorkFoundations is generating the kind of evidence needed to
understand what works for people facing complex barriers to work, what it costs, and what leads to lasting employment”.
– Jacqui Gilligan, White Box.
What is Work Foundations?
WorkFoundations is a national employment program funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).
It supports people facing significant barriers to work by funding the extra support they need to succeed in employment.
Participants gain real work experience, earn wages, build confidence, and develop the skills needed for long-term employment.
White Box’s unique role
White Box has received a WorkFoundations grant to act as an aggregator for this program. This gives us a unique opportunity to work directly with a group of organisations, capturing key data and insights along the way that can be shared with the sector and government. Collectively, our eight partner organisations are expected to place over 50 people who’ve been out of work for more than 12 months into real jobs, supported with on-the-job training, mentoring, and other wrap-around supports. In return they’ll receive funding to cover the costs associated with these supports.
Alongside this, White Box is creating a space for shared learnings, collaboration, and evidence building: tracking what works, what it costs, and how social enterprises are helping people out of long term unemployment.
Our employee target groups
We’re working with social enterprises and values-led employers that are committed to supporting one or more of these target groups:
- CALD individuals registered with a Workforce Australia Services provider
- Young people (15–24) disengaged from work and education, and registered with a Transition to Work provider
- Women registered with a Workforce Australia or Parent Pathways provider
We’re actively evaluating our work to build the case to government that social enterprise should be embedded into the employment services system.
Informing employment system reform.
The WorkFoundations program isn’t just about creating jobs. For us, it’s about demonstrating the value of employment focused social enterprise.
Over the life of the program, White Box is leading a comprehensive evaluation, capturing detailed data across all participating organisations.
This evaluation will give us a clear, evidence-based view of what it takes to support people with complex barriers into mainstream employment, and how social enterprises and impact-first employers deliver that impact.
“For the women we work alongside, the barrier is not willingness or capability. It is access to equitable opportunity and the right support to sustain it. WorkFoundations recognises that meaningful employment outcomes require investment in people-centred, culturally responsive models. We know this approach works.”
– SisterWorks CEO Ifrin Fittock
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