About the program
The Sticking Together Project supported young people aged 18-24 years, who were experiencing multiple and complex barriers to employment, in developing work readiness skills and capabilities. This enabled them to find jobs and 'stick' with work for the long term. The program was delivered by SYC in the Illawarra, City, and Inner South areas of Sydney, as well as the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven.
The Sticking Together Project used an intensive coaching model to build rapport with participating young people over a 60-week period. In addition to employment-related skills, coaches supported non-vocational skills development and helped to address other barriers to employment such as health and relationship challenges.
The Sticking Together Project coaching model was co-designed by SYC, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and was piloted in South Australia and Victoria before it was delivered in New South Wales.
Where we are now
The Sticking Together Project operated under a social impact bond structure for the first 12 months. For more information on the structure and details of the social impact bond, see Sticking Together Information Memorandum. After the first year of operation, the program transitioned to a one-year outcomes-based services agreement, followed by a two-year payment-by-results contract.
The evaluation of the STP found that over the four years of operation, the program supported 664 young people. While 40% found employment, only 8% sustained it for 26 consecutive weeks. The program was not re-commissioned.
Key learnings
Flexibility in the contract structure, while maintaining a focus on outcomes can support better outcomes for participants.
The social impact structure for the Sticking Together Project was adapted multiple times over its term to respond to the changing environment and performance, including 2019 NSW bushfires and uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19 on the employment market. This included reviewing the counterfactual data to understand how employment in the regions had been impacted. A focus on outcomes was maintained across the different contract structures, incentivising continuous improvement.
The payment-by-results contract embedded learnings from the social impact bond, including setting realistic targets that considered the challenges in collecting evidence of employment from participants in the initial year of operations. In addition, the Department of Education and SYC adopted an incentive scheme to increase the collection of evidence.