Golden Gurus is a new national program that will start on 1 January 2010.
Golden Gurus will provide mature age Australians (aged 50 years and over) with a range of opportunities to support community organisations and small businesses.
There will be opportunities for mature age people to take on a skilled volunteering role. This role could involve helping a community organisation to grow or helping a community organisation deliver support to others (for example, by transferring skills and experience to people with disability, young people, Indigenous Australians or people experiencing challenges in life).
There will also be opportunities for appropriately skilled mature age people to take on a small business mentoring role. This role could include supporting a new small business owner who has completed the Government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme. The Scheme helps unemployed people to set up their own small business.
Through Golden Gurus, mature age Australians will be able to meet new people, develop social networks, access free training, and participate in an Ambassadors program.
Golden Gurus will be delivered by a community of quality organisations across Australia.
Golden Gurus is based on an idea presented at the Australia 2020 Summit and forms part of the Australian Government’s social inclusion agenda. The program aims to harness the skills and experience of Australians aged 50 years and over to help meet future skill needs, address current skill shortages and respond to the challenges of an ageing workforce.