Funds raised will go towards life-changing initiatives for young people with barriers to employment. 

Talent RISE is pleased to announce that $86,569 has been raised in the 2023 ‘Step Up Challenge’ fundraising initiative which is aimed at helping young people with challenges to finding employment. These vital funds will be used for three life-changing initiatives. These are: 

• Tech Academy: The Tech Academy will fund a group of young people through work placements and training to acquire invaluable skills and experience, providing them with a clear pathway into tech roles – a pathway they never thought possible. 
• Paid Internship Scheme: Paid internships can be life-changing but are often impossible to secure for the young people we work with. This scheme will fund internships which provide critical experience to help young people gain confidence and secure employment. 
• Equal Access Program: This program will support young people from refugee, asylum seeker, or Indigenous backgrounds by covering the cost of training (alongside RISE work readiness support) to provide a platform for future security. 

Over 300 global employees from Talent and Talent RISE volunteered their time on September 8th for the Talent RISE global ‘Step Up Challenge’ initiative. The initiative enters its second successful year running. To date, Talent RISE has raised $194,047 and has helped over 1,000 young people with coaching, mentoring, training and secured meaningful employment for 75 young people 

“It is incredibly heart-warming to see our team members rally together with friends, family and clients to help raise $86,569 to help young people facing barriers to employment,” said Talent RISE CEO ANZ Karen Graham.  

“Our Talent RISE team are extremely excited to be able to launch these three life-changing initiatives and know the huge impact that they will have on helping fight youth unemployment here in Australia and New Zealand.” 

Launched in 2014, Talent RISE is the charitable foundation of Talent – a leading global technology and digital recruitment specialist. To date, Talent RISE has engaged more than 3,000 young people through workshops and mentoring and has successfully placed over 400 into meaningful employment. 

According to the ABS, the youth unemployment rate in Australia decreased to 7.7% in June 2023. This figure however remains too high and is more than double that of the general population of 3.5%. 

According to Stats NZ, in the March 2023 quarter, the seasonally adjusted proportion of people aged 15-24 years who were not in employment, education, or training (NEET) was 10.3% down from 11.1% last quarter. 

Over the years, the Talent and Talent RISE global team has volunteered over 50,000 hours to giving back to charities and community projects and are proud to add the ‘Step Up Challenge’ to the list.