The Australian Government is providing $50.7 million over four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15 for the Indigenous - Youth Career Pathways (IYCP) Program. The IYCP Program will commence from the 2012 school year and focus on the provision of school based traineeships and associated support activities to Indigenous students in Years 11 and 12 and, in some circumstances, year 10 Indigenous students.

The program will provide Indigenous students with personal mentoring and case management to help them manage issues making the move from school to work difficult. It will also be available to inspire and support other Indigenous high school students, including younger students to Year 7, to complete their schooling and then transition into further education and/or a job.

View the Minister’s media release and fact sheet ‘Helping Indigenous Australians achieve their potential’.

The IYCP will be implemented in two stages with transitional arrangements being put in place in 2012, followed by full implementation in 2013.

22 organisations funded under the Indigenous Employment Program to deliver school based traineeships will transition more than 1000 places to the IYCP in 2012.

In addition, the department conducted a competitive Request for Quotation exercise in September 2011 to select organisations to deliver 610 new IYCP places nationally in the 2012 school year.

The Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development announced the results of the Request for Quotation exercise. 16 organisationsations were successful through the Request for Quotation exercise to deliver the new IYCP places across 23 Regions nationally:

 
 
A competitive tender process open to all organisations will be conducted in mid 2012 for 2013 IYCP places.  It is expected that a discussion paper will be released early in 2012. The discussion paper will be seeking views from organisations, and other interested stakeholders on the further development of the IYCP and the Request for Tender documentation.