Local youth mental health umbrella group, Kiama and District Stronger Community (KDSC), is partnering with WithYouWithMe (WYWM) in a pilot project to help underemployed and unemployed youth in the area.

Free online training, valued at up to $7000 per participant, will be provided by WYWM to least 10 local youth to develop job ready skills for the tech sector, as an alternate to university or undertaking a trade.

WYWM is a Sydney-based social impact company founded by veterans who struggled to gain meaningful employment when transitioning from the military to civilian life. This is the first time they have expanded their service to help youth.

“I’m super excited to see the options that local youth can gain from this, especially the ones that may have fallen through the cracks in the schooling or university system,” says Kane Presland, WYWM Youth Project Lead.

“A lot of people don’t have high strengths and aptitudes in typical school subjects like English and maths even though they might be bright and have really good aptitudes for other areas.

“We really want to demonstrate to youth that even though they might not be great at those subjects, they can get work in the tech sector and gain really meaningful employment rather than being underemployed for the rest of their life.”

A testamonial from the WYWM website

It is expected the career ready technology courses – focusing on roles including Cloud Administration, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Project Management and Software Development - will have local youth aged 16 to 25 ready for work within three to four months and into employment within six months. This will be facilitated through access to WYWM employment pipelines where they will be referred to a suitable job in a partner organisation, as well as KDSC helping to find local jobs.

Students will complete aptitude and personality tests which will demonstrate their strengths for different careers in technology.

“I’m excited that this is being piloted right here in our area,” says Matt Brown, Board Member of KDSC.

“I’ve spoken to three local employers in the region and they are ready to put people on right now that have the skills these courses are offering.”

Another Board Member of KDSC, Derek McMahon, agrees with the importance of these courses.

“One of the most important aspects is that we have a young person here motivated to help our youth,” he says.

“I’m excited to see young people leading the charge and I think that will be able to make a much bigger impact than older adults telling kids what to do.”

“We want to start this as soon as possible so if anyone wants to get started, email me and I will pass on the details for it,” says Kane, who will also be working with the High School.

“We are trying to create an environment where anyone can succeed rather than make everyone fit into a certain culture.

“If anyone has an interest in technology and wants to have a go in something different, we really want to provide this opportunity for you.”

To learn more about the free courses, email [email protected]