Talent has announced a brand-new internal initiative aimed at helping youth employment. The 1 in 10 pledge states that for every 10 Talent employees, there will be 1 Talent team member globally that is RISE related (RISE team and RISE young people placed in Talent). The business is currently at 1 in 19 and aims to achieve 1 in 10 by 2026.

Talent’s vision is to ‘empower people to build a better world of work for all’. This initiative serves as an example of the business leading the way in the recruitment industry when it comes to helping young people in need find meaningful employment.

On top of this, the business has also announced the 2023 ‘Step Up Challenge’ which sees Talent employees walking 20KM to raise much needed funds to help young people.

The initiative aimed at helping young people with challenges to finding employment enters its second year running and is embedded into the Talent values. Last year, the $100,000 raised helped over 1,000 young people with coaching, mentoring, training and secured meaningful employment for 75 young people, as well as expansion plans of RISE into Auckland.

In 2023, all funds raised will go towards three life-changing initiatives for young people. These are:

• Tech Academy: The Tech Academy will fund a group of young people through work placements and training to acquire invaluable skills and experience, providing them with a clear pathway into tech roles – a pathway they never thought possible.
• Paid Internship Scheme: Paid internships can be life-changing but are often impossible to secure for the young people we work with. This scheme will fund internships which provide critical experience to help young people gain confidence and secure employment.
• Equal Access Program: This program will support young people from refugee, asylum seeker, or Indigenous backgrounds by covering the cost of training (alongside RISE work readiness support) to provide a platform for future security.

Mark Nielsen, Talent’s Global CEO, is proud that Talent is leading the way when it comes to DE&I and ESG initiatives, “Inclusive hiring practices don’t just end with gender, ethnicity, and sexuality – they go beyond that. Many organisations exclusively hire graduates from just one elite university. How can businesses hire someone outside of their usual hiring channels? Are entry-level roles really entry-level? Are businesses giving young people a chance? These are questions that we must pose to really help shape DE&I strategies from the top down. Talent RISE is an important component of what we do at Talent in building a better world of work.”

Over the years, the Talent and Talent RISE global team has volunteered over 50,000 hours to giving back to charities and community projects. Talent RISE will be expanding into Perth & Adelaide in 2023.

About Talent

Talent is a global technology and digital services business providing technology contractors and permanent recruitment, tech project delivery and support services, and designing and building embedded talent acquisition functions.

Over the past 10 years Talent has achieved record growth increasing footprint to 6 countries and generating over $900m in annual revenue.

Talent is a purpose driven organisation with its vision and mission at the core. We bring real value to people and organisations by building highly skilled and engaged teams, rethinking technology solutions and taking a people first approach to how we innovate our services. We are specialists committed to creating the most rewarding experiences for our customers, clients, colleagues, and the community.

Our values guide everything we do. Lead the way - strive for better - give a damn.

We are determined to build a better world of work and give back to our communities through our charitable foundation, Talent RISE, aiming to improve the lives of everyone we work with. We want to create a true sense of belonging for all.

About Talent RISE

Talent RISE is a charity committed to changing the lives of young people who have experienced barriers to employment by providing education, training, life skills and opportunities to help them gain independence and purpose through meaningful work. Talent RISE is the charity arm of Talent, the largest independently owned and operated digital recruitment specialist in Australia and New Zealand. Talent operates across 12 locations around the world with over 300 employees.

Established in 2014, Talent RISE was created to address the high level of youth unemployment and is dedicated to upskilling and empowering young people to commence and build thriving, sustainable careers, whilst assisting employers to build inclusive working environments and bring young people into their organisations. Currently operating in four of the Talent locations across Australia and New Zealand, Talent is committed to extending RISE into all its 12 locations around the world. To learn more about Talent RISE visit www.talentrise.org

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