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Community engagement showcasing events

• Brisbane Community Engagement Showcase 2007
• Brisbane City Council Showcase
  • Creative Democracy - Homelessness
  • Engaging communities using cultural processes - Chermside Community Hub
• Central Queensland Showcase
  • Devising and implementing the District Youth Achievement Plan for the ETRF Senior Phase of Learning
  • Integrated Area-Wide Management as an Approach to Landscape Management
  • Rolleston Coal Project
  • Yeppoon Western Bypass Road
• Emergency Services Showcase
  • Community Safety Project
  • Engaging Indigenous Communities
  • Local Ambulance Committees
  • Queensland Ambulance Service First Responders
• Goodna Outreach Showcase
• Hervey Bay Showcase
  • Australian Industry Engineering Manufacturing Network Ltd
  • Wide Bay Burnett Human Services Network
  • New prison in a new town
• Ipswich Showcase
  • Swanbank Community Reference Group
  • Community Hubs Project in Esk Shire
  • Ipswich Area Regional Disability Council (IARDC)
• Mackay Showcase
  • Mackay Highlands Coordinating Committee
  • Queensland Marine Academy
  • Mackay Childhood Injury Prevention Project
  • Mackay Alcohol and Other Drugs Community Partnership
• NRM Showcase
  • Review of Ministerial Advisory Arrangements
  • CHRRUPP Experiment and Future Options for Community Engagement
  • Community Involvement in Mary River Planning
• Queensland Police Service Showcase
  • Mareeba Truancy and Graffiti (TAG) project
  • Community Support
  • Mareeba Shire Council - Local Government view
  • Mareeba State High School - Community Education Counsellor view
  • Mareeba State High School - Education view
• Townsville Showcase
  • La Luna Youth Art
  • Minimizing Road Trauma
  • Speak Out 2003
  • Palm Island Community Youth Centre Consultation Process
  • District Youth Achievement Plan
  • Young Achievement Enterprise Education Program

Townsville Showcase

Young Achievement Enterprise Education Program

• Background
• What is different about this case study that shows how government, industry and communities can better engage with each other?
• What are the key outcomes of the case study for government, industry and community?
• What are the key learnings/insights about community engagement?
• What will sustain community engagement into the future in this case study?

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Background

Young Achievement Australia (YAA) provides upper primary, secondary and tertiary students with innovative and entrepreneurial programs designed to develop skills which enable the students to make a successful transition from studies to the workplace. Business Skills is an accredited, cross-disciplinary program aligned with the Certificate II in Business which teaches students the skills and knowledge that underpin real-world commercial success.

This is a 20 - 24 week program for 10 - 25 secondary students in years 10 - 12, Self-nominated participants meet around a boardroom table to operate their own real business, guided by business mentors who provide valuable expertise and lasting links to commerce and industry and supported by a teacher who volunteers to become involved with the program. Collaboration with local business mentors is the mainstay of the YAA Business Skills Program.

With guidance from comprehensive program manuals and business mentors from Newmont Pajingo (a gold mining company) the students experience all of the stages of a concentrated business cycle, taking responsibility for essential business processes including:

• Selling shares to raise capital.
• Establishing the company with an organisational structure modelled on successful long term enterprises.
• Electing an executive management team.
• Researching, designing and producing goods or services to fill a profitable market niche in the community.
• Planning and implementing quality systems in the key management areas of finance, manufacturing, human resources and marketing.
• Preparing business plans and an annual report.
• Liquidating and paying dividends to shareholders at the end of the program.

Throughout the program the student business has the opportunity to be involved in activities to enhance their company profile within the community. Suitya has participated in several local markets, selling their pocket buddy organisers. They have also travelled to Townsville to promote their wares at the North Queensland Trade Expo. Company mentors attend most weekly meetings with students and verify competencies for the Certificate II in Business.

What is different about this case study that shows how government, industry and communities can better engage with each other?

Under the Burdekin Rangelands Reef Initiative (BRRI), Young Achievement Australia received a grant to promote opportunities and training for youth in the rural community. The Department of Primary Industries, Newmont Pajingo and Blackheath and Thornburgh College have worked together to ensure the availability of the YAA program to students in their region. All parties have continued to be actively involved throughout the entire process. The unique collaboration, made possible through the BRRI, has contributed to the success of this program.

This teamwork on behalf of the community, government and industry has also set a fine example to the students involved who were buoyed by the interest these parties had in their project and the support given along the way. The following government priorities were addressed throughout the program:

• More jobs for Queensland - skills and innovation - 'The Smart State'
  The skills young people gain from the program make them a very sought after resource. They have proven to make excellent employees for local businesses and are willing to take on roles of responsibility. Many of the past YAA students have shown entrepreneurial talents by opening their own small business.
• Safer and more Supportive Communities
  Community support is evident when people purchase student products and/or become shareholders in the project.
• Community Engagement - better quality of life
  An essential part of the program is the participation of a community representative as business mentor. This provides students with long-lasting links to the local business community. This connection also encourages students to feel part of their community, as does their regular participation in local markets.
• Valuing the Environment
  Environmental management considerations are built into the structure of the YAA programs. There is a Trade Expo Award for Environmental Management and Regional, State and National Awards rewarding student companies for their exceptional environmental management practices. Student companies are also responsible for electing an Environmental Director to oversee their business practices in relation to the environment.
• Building Queensland's Regions
  There is an observable 'flow-on' effect to the Region as the community becomes aware of youth who are responsible, and capable, up and coming business people. Positive media generated by these student programs enhances the community view of the potential of their youth. Students are also encouraged by the positive support form their community as a whole.

Throughout the Business Skills Program, YAA organises a number of events for all participants and business mentors. These events coincide with key milestones in the program eg. a management skills seminar, Trade Expo and a Regional Awards Dinner. These events offer participants an opportunity to meet others involved in YAA and to continue to develop and enhance skills being learnt in the program.

What are the key outcomes of the case study for government, industry and community?

• Community revitalisation - The skills developed through the involvement of the Department of Primary Industries and Newmont Pajingo will assist in the retainment of youth in the area as the students have developed links with the local business community and have had successful engagements with local stakeholders. Young people who participate in this program are less likely to be involved in negative behaviours such as vandalism and substance abuse and communities have an opportunity to enhance their positive profile through media releases about the activities of the student company.
• Community collaboration - This vital partnership provided business skills to the students (which had flow-on benefits to the local community) while enhancing and developing relationships betweem youth and a major community employer.
• Involvement in a successful project - Both government and industry can be proud of their involvement in this unique, dynamic entrepreneurial program. Using a combination of resources from government, industry and the community these students have earned a Certificate II in Business and gained valuable real-life experience that would otherwise not have been obtained before leaving school. Involvement in this hands-on program provides a broad understanding of enterprise attributes together with practical experiences which feed into real workplace, career and business pathways.

What are the key learnings/insights about community engagement?

• Using a tried and true method of delivery based on real, successful entrepreneurial endeavours, students at Blackheath and Thornburgh College were able to engage with members of their community on a business level. As a result, their view of government and the business community was enhanced.
• Community engagement is only possible when the parties are willing to become active participants throughout the whole process.
• Successful collaboration is possible between business, industry and the community through programs such as that provided by YAA.
• It is imperative that opportunities are continually provided for young people to develop entrepreneurial skills in rural communities to assist them to stay engaged in their community.
• A study commissioned by Education Queensland demonstrated that student participation in programs such as the YAA Business Skills program increases the students' desire to enter the business world. The unique combination of hands-on business programs with local business mentors makes these programs a viable alternative for those seeking to foster entrepreneurial attributes in their community with an end to enhancing the prosperity of that community.
• Most students are keen to be involved in a program that is 'real life' rather than 'life-like'. Students are excited about having shareholders in their own company, being responsible for real money and being directors of their own company.
• The real possibility of students obtaining meaningful employment as a direct result of their involvement in this program also motivates their engagement with the program.

What will sustain community engagement into the future in this case study?

It is vital that there is an understanding in the school and community to promote entrepreneurship and engagement with the community.

Future community engagement depends on funding and the continued participation of key stakeholders in the community through programs such as YAA. It is projected that youth involved in this program will be more inclined to view themselves as entrepreneurs. This has contributed to the local business community and is expected to influence the prosperity of the community as a whole and the sustained support for these types of initiatives.

Young people who choose to sustain their involvement in entrepreneurial activities have been supported by the Department of State Development which provides advice and mentoring for those wishing to start their own business.