Community and social services graduate program

The Community and Social Services Graduate Program (the Graduate Program) is a whole-of-sector graduate program for community and social services.

Developing and retaining new starters is essential to building a skilled and experienced workforce. But it can be difficult to support new starters to develop their skills and experience. Especially with high demand for services and workforce shortages.

That is why the Victorian Government is working with the community and social services sector to build the workforce of the future.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for employers who want to help develop the future community and social services workforce by:

investing in the skills and experience of new graduates
supporting new graduates to thrive in challenging and rewarding roles, and
developing their capacity to recruit and support early career professionals.

A well-supported early-career experience sets people up for a long and rewarding career. Investing in a rich and rewarding graduate experience helps us keep more new workers in the sector. It helps us grow the skilled workforce that community and social services need to meet current and future demand.

Why participate as an employer

Investing in graduates is important to build and retain a sustainable workforce

The community and social services workforce needs to grow to meet demand for essential services, both now and into the future.

The structured 12 month Graduate Program provides new starters in community services with the learning and support they need. It will improve the job readiness of new practitioners and keep more of them through their early years of employment.

It provides a simple and visible pathway for new graduates from study to work. It will attract more people to the sector and improve their confidence. The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing provides funding to organisations participating in the Graduate Program. This funding helps graduates engage in the structured 12-month Graduate Program. It contributes to the cost to employers of investing in the learning and development of graduates.

Through the program employers will:

Receive $8,000 of funding per graduate to support their development and help your wider organisation.
Have access to motivated and qualified graduates excited to make an impact.
Be able to offer enhanced professional learning, peer networks and other support for their graduates.
Retain new workers by offering a supported early-career experience. You will help to build a skilled workforce to meet current and future demand.

Additional funding is available to employers to support graduates in rural and regional areas.

What is expected from my organisation to support graduates?

We are looking for employers who are eager to grow their capacity to develop and support new starters in your organisation. As an employer, you will commit to:

employ a graduate for a period of at least 12 months
support the graduate to engage in learning, development and peer networking opportunities provided by the program
provide professional supervision to graduates, to allow graduates to have a supportive developmental environment
provide access to additional professional learning opportunities within your organisation
provide simple reports on your organisation’s activities under the program.

Pathways to participate

There are 2 pathways for your organisation to participate:

Hire a new graduate through the Graduate Resource Centre (GRC)
Nominate an existing employee who has been employed in their current role in the last 12 months and graduated in the last 2 years.

The Graduate Resource Centre (GRC)

The Graduate Resource Centre (GRC) is a key resource for the Graduate Program. RMIT’s Workforce Innovation and Development Institute (WIDI) operates the GRC.

The GRC will support participating employers with a centralised and streamlined recruitment process. If you are looking to take on a new qualified graduate, the GRC will provide your organisation with a new pool of motivated graduates with the right qualifications and a genuine interest in working in the sector.

The GRC will:

support you by assessing applicant qualifications and suitability for job role
do employment screening for shortlisted candidates
help you and your graduates access training, resources and peer networking activities to enrich their early career experience.

Once graduates are assessed through the GRC, you will decide who you employ. You will have the option to undertake further recruitment activities to ensure graduate candidates are the right fit.

Whether you employ a new graduate or nominating an existing staff member, the GRC will also coordinate and oversee graduates’ participation in the Graduate Program.

For more information on the Graduate Resource Centre, visit the RMIT Workforce Innovation and Development Institute (WIDI) webpage.

Employer eligibility

Victorian community and social services organisations are invited to participate in the program. These include:

family violence services
sexual assault services
child and family services
child protection
home-based or residential out-of-home care services
disability services
social or community housing
homelessness services
alcohol and other drug (AOD) services in community services settings
any of the above services provided by an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation
other community services funded by government.

To participate, organisations must:

deliver services that are in scope of the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (the department) and monitored through a service agreement with the department or in other ways (e.g. Victorian Housing Registrar)
commit to employing graduates for at least an initial period of 12 months
provide a work environment that supports graduates in a range of professional development opportunities
commit and adhere to program guidelines that outline program expectations and accountability requirements.