Young people know that work is essential to being able to make their own economic choices, build their independence, and live a good life. But for many young people in Australia, the pathway into secure, meaningful employment can be difficult to navigate with multiple barriers which often seem insurmountable.
The National Youth Employment Body (NYEB) is working to change that with a place-based model for addressing the systemic barriers to youth employment faced by communities across Australia. Established by the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) in 2018, the NYEB brings together employers, educators, service providers, governments and young people to design and deliver solutions that meet both local needs and national priorities. The NYEB’s unique model bridges the gap between community action and government policy, and provides a collaborative structure to foster the development of best practice.
At the heart of this model are Community Investment Committees (CICs): local, place-based collaborations that bring together diverse stakeholders to align expertise and take action towards a shared goal of helping young people access decent, sustainable work, and addressing the needs of local employers.
These committees are led by a local community organisations experienced in working with young people and members include service providers, young people, employers, skills and training providers and government representatives. The committees build on local strengths, coordinate existing efforts, and create space for communities to co-design solutions that reflect their realities. Their effectiveness depends on the committee’s governance structure and on the trust built over time through sustained local presence and relationships, which enable organisations to work together in ways that are not possible through standard program delivery alone. It is this combination of collaborative practice, centring of community, shared governance, clear purpose, and system learning that is central to the NYEB’s success.
As one local organisation leading a CIC put it: “We are the people on the ground with the deep knowledge of young people and the… local context. By taking what’s working on the ground we can influence something much bigger.”
Recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach to employment services has made it difficult for many to connect with work, the Federal Government recently announced reforms to deliver a more responsive system that better reflects local labour market conditions, strengthens the connections and relationships between organisations in place, and matches people to the right support at the right time to improve pathways to meaningful employment.
The NYEB shows that achieving this shift in practice requires more than better coordination between services. It requires deliberately enabling strong local organisations with the trust and capability to broker relationships across employment services, training providers, employers and community organisations, supported by shared local labour market data, and collaborative governance that includes people with lived experience.
What underpins this model is not only collaboration, but active system stewardship at the local and national levels: trusted organisations translate between community realities and system requirements and align incentives across actors, while government enables rapid learning and adjustment based on what is working on the ground. Employers are not peripheral to this system but central participants, contributing real-time labour market insight and helping shape pathways into work.
The outcome is not just better service alignment, but stronger and more sustained transitions into work, improved responsiveness to local employer demand, and pathways that are more accessible and effective for people who are facing the most complex barriers to work.
Bringing young people and employers together
In Darwin, the local Community Investment Committee (CIC) convened by YouthWorxNT has become a powerful example of what happens when communities are trusted and supported to lead. Established in 2021, the YouthWorx CIC rebranded as the Greater Darwin Community Investment Committee in 2024 to reflect its ownership by the community and active member involvement.
The Greater Darwin CIC has prioritised its work through its Youth Employment Action Plan and co-designed a Youth Employer Toolkit with local youth employer champions, young individuals, Registered Training Organisations, government departments and community stakeholders who are committed to supporting young people in Darwin. The toolkit provides employers with practical information, resources and advice to help them effectively attract, retain, and support young people at work, and provides young people tips for building a resume and applying for jobs. It has already proved invaluable for local businesses, with one employer describing how it helped them advertise and fill their available positions, giving them access to ‘some amazing candidates’.
From local solutions to national impact
CICs test solutions that respond directly to the systemic challenges in their communities, such as mismatches between training and local industry demand, limited pathways for young people into stable work or lack of transport options to travel to where the work is – and then share what works across the national NYEB network.
Over time, this builds the evidence base for change, informing policy, shaping investment decisions, and strengthening the conditions for young people to move into meaningful employment.
Brotherhood of St Laurence Executive Director Travers McLeod said the NYEB had shown the value of place-based approaches that also contribute to broader systemic change.
“The great thing about the NYEB model is that it starts with communities and the people who understand the barriers and opportunities first-hand, then backs them to design solutions that work in their context.
“By connecting these local efforts to national policy and advocacy, we’re seeing how place-based innovation can influence system-wide change as part of a coherent strategy for youth employment.”
PRF has supported NYEB since 2021, including funding to support work in seven communities in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
Kianni, a young person who has recently become co-chair of the Gold Coast CIC – the Gold Coast Youth Employment Body - and sits on the NYEB Advisory Board, said she enjoys collaborating with others in the local CIC and working alongside employers, training organisations and community leaders to brainstorm solutions that would help overcome the real barriers local young people face after leaving school.
“Everyone in the CIC is committed to the same purpose – helping young people in our community thrive by connecting them to a fulfilling job that will kickstart their working life,” Kianni said.
“A lot of the time young people struggle to find the right direction after school, and it’s rare to be asked what we need to make the transition into work a smooth and successful one. Through the CIC, I’ve been able to share my experiences, contribute ideas and see them turned into action.”
