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Message from the Minister
The Hon. Jaala Pulford, Minister for Employment
Getting a job is hard enough at the best of times, but many Victorians, through no fault of their own, face additional barriers to finding work and gaining the social, emotional and economic benefits that come with being engaged in work.
One of the Social Procurement Framework’s key objectives is to create opportunities for people who need a boost to find work, including long-term unemployed people, disengaged youth, single parents, migrants and refugees and workers affected by structural changes in our economy.
The dignity of work is one of the cornerstones of a fair and equitable society, a society in which we all have a stake.
It’s great to see enterprises from across the State developing innovative solutions to deliver real employment outcomes for disadvantaged Victorians.
Through initiatives like the Framework, the Victorian Government is building a future all Victorians can be a part of, no matter what their circumstances.
Key achievements
In the 12 months from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, Victorian government departments and core agencies directly spent:
- $14.1 million with 79 certified social enterprises
- Of this, $9.2 million was spent with 38 certified social enterprises with a mission for disadvantaged people
- $29.8 million with 213 social enterprises identified by the Map for Impact project1
- Of this, $20.5 million was spent with 33 social enterprises identified by Map for Impact with a mission for disadvantaged people
For the full financial year 2019-20, the Government spent $21 0002 with Victorian social enterprises through state purchase contracts.
In 2019-20 Rail Projects recorded:
- 66,619 employment hours for refugees and asylum seekers
- 79,412 hours for long-term unemployed
- 33,381 hours for disengaged young people
To date3, across the major road and rail projects, $23.2 million has been spent indirectly through contracts with social enterprises in total.
The major road and rail projects (delivered by Level Crossing Removal , Major Road Projects , North East Link , Rail Projects , West Gate Tunnel ) indirectly spent through their contractors $15.3 million with social enterprises4 in 2019-20.
Social , Australia’s leading organisation supporting social enterprises, experienced strong demand for certification in 2019-20, with 370 enterprises certified at 30 June 2020, an increase of 28% on the previous year. Victorian social enterprises accounted for 49% of the growth, increasing from 165 certified enterprises to 204 at 30 June 2020.
For rail industry skills programs in 2019-20:
- 31 refugee/asylum seekers completed the GROW and TRANSIT programs
- 43 long-term unemployed people completed the GROW and TRANSIT programs
1. The Map for identifies and maps Victoria's social enterprises and explores their social characteristics.
2. Due to system and reporting limitations, not all spend across all state purchase contracts categories may be included in this total.
3. Reporting commenced in 2016 and includes data up to 30 June 2020.
4. This figure may include spend with Social Enterprises that do not meet the current definition of Victorian social enterprises in the Framework.
'Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework is really starting to have an impact across the State, as well as influencing other state governments to include social enterprise in their procurement policies. There are increasing numbers of business members, big and small, joining Social Traders because of the Framework, and certified social enterprises are winning more work. As Australia endures the worst recession in a century, there has never been a more important time for social procurement to ensure that the recovery is for everyone.'
Mike McKinstry
Chief Executive Officer
Social Traders
Case studies
Helping to restore the dignity of people sleeping rough
The One Voice mobile provides a safe, positive and dignified service for people without a home.
South East has partnered with the Victorian One Voice shower bus to help restore the dignity of homeless people in Melbourne’s south east.
As well as providing people with a hot shower in a safe place, One Voice also links service users with other services who can help them move out of homelessness.
One Voice CEO, Joshua Wilkins, says:
'Long-term, it might be that One Voice connects a person to the right support service at the right time, which allows them to take the first step up and away from sleeping on the streets.'
In 2019–20, One Voice supported 17,092 people in Cheltenham, Cranbourne, Dandenong, Frankston, Hampton Park, Melbourne City and Mitcham.
South East Water has a contract worth $15,000 with One Voice in 2019–20 to help provide this vital community service, and it has donated $60,000 over the past four years.
YMCA Rebuild at Yarra Valley Water
YMCA is a social enterprise that provides support, training, mentoring and employment opportunities for young ex-offenders at risk of being trapped in a recurring cycle of crime and imprisonment.
Yarra Valley engaged YMCA Rebuild to undertake a number of maintenance work programs, including landscaping with local indigenous trees, car park works, construction of a new pedestrian path, and paving repair works.
Chris (name changed) is one of the participants in YMCA Rebuild project. He says it’s made a huge difference to his life.
'When I got out, I had no licence, nothing. Rebuild has helped me and supported me to get my life back. Now I’ve got my licence and I’ve got skills. They get you to do a range of things with landscaping and maintenance, so I’ve learned a bit of everything.
Now I’ve got goals and a plan for the next five years. I want to do an apprenticeship in landscaping so I can start my own business.'
The work with YMCA Rebuild is just one part of Yarra Valley Water’s social procurement strategy, which mandates that for relevant procurement categories, procurers are required to include Victorian Aboriginal businesses and social enterprise businesses in all RFQ processes.
Yarra Valley Water’s Chief Financial Officer Natalie Foeng says:
'We take a broad view of our role and consider we have a responsibility to contribute to making a positive difference in our community. We are proud to be doing our bit to help close the gap.'
Short stories
Engineering pathways to success
Engineering Pathways Industry is an initiative to transition refugee and asylum seeker engineers on to major transport projects. 32 cadets are completing the 18 month cadetship which includes funded studies of a customised Graduate Certificate in Infrastructure Engineering Management.
Employment is provided through 11 different program partners, including the major transport project delivery agencies, constructors, transport delivery agencies and consultancies.
Cadets in the program hold qualifications ranging from civil engineering to electrical engineering, and come from countries including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Iraq businesses and social enterprise businesses in all RFQ processes.
Reviewed 10 December 2020