Young Carer Skills Project
The Young Carer Skills Project is a 12 month pilot project delivered by Carers NSW with one-off funding from the Department of Regional NSW. The project will work with a small group of young carers living in or near Coffs Harbour, Tamworth and Port Macquarie, supporting them to access flexible, local paid work opportunities in the disability sector.
Who can participate?
A young person may be eligible to participate in the Young Carer Skills Project if they are:
- Providing care and support to a sibling, parent, partner or friend who lives with a disability, health condition or mental illness
- Aged 16-25 years
- Living in, or near, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth or Port Macquarie
- Looking for flexible, local paid work opportunities
- Open to exploring work in the disability sector
Complete our short contact form to find out if you are eligible
What is involved?
Eligible young carers will be matched with a paid job as a disability support worker in their local area that fits around their other commitments and responsibilities.
They will also be given career coaching and fee-free training opportunities to kick start their career, whether in the disability sector or another industry that interests them.
Why focus on disability support worker positions?
Young carers gain many skills from their caring responsibilities that make them assets to the paid workforce. However, young carers can experience barriers to accessing suitable flexible work that recognises their caring skills.
While not all young carers want to work in caring professions, many do seek paid work in the disability sector or related fields. Disability support work also requires skills and awareness that many young carers have already developed in their caring role, and can offer the flexibility that many young carers require to balance earning an income with their caring responsibilities and other commitments, such
Supporting young carers to obtain paid work in this field allows for the recognition and development of existing skills to support their career goals while also helping to address local disability workforce challenges.
Information for disability service providers
As part of this project, Carers NSW also aims to work with a small group of disability service providers based in Coffs Harbour, Tamworth or Port Macquarie to identify and/or establish suitable employment opportunities for young carers that also assist in addressing local workforce shortages.
We are currently seeking expressions of interest from selected providers to participate in this project by committing to enable the employment of one or more young carers as a disability support worker in their organisation.
For more information
For more information about the Young Carer Skills Project, please phone Carers NSW or email yc@carersnsw.org.au