YO Bendigo is delighted to announce its new Level-Up & Overcome project to support young people aged 12-18 to access opportunities to gain the skills, confidence, and relationships required to participate meaningfully in education, employment, and community. 

What is the Level-Up & Overcome project? 

Young people thrive when they can participate meaningfully in education, employment, and community, but face barriers to engagement. YO Bendigo's Level-Up project will provide a range of opportunities that allow young people to gain the skills, confidence, and relationships they need to break down the barriers to participation through two programs. Each of the programs, YOConnect (social connection and relationship building opportunities) and YOSkills (practical skill development and capacity building opportunities), will deliver a range of training, workshops, events, and activities.

YOConnect will involve the delivery of many opportunities to help connect young people with their peers, build their relationships and networks, increase their confidence, and grow their social skills in ways that will equip them to participate in employment, education, and community. It will include opportunities such as: 

• YO Chill Days - open facility drop-in sessions for young people to make new friends, try new activities, and create new connections.
• Arts, crafts & making sessions
• Board & card gaming sessions and contests
• E-gaming and video game sessions and contests
• Social events and activities

YOSkills will involve the delivery of several opportunities to help young people build their practical skills and knowledge, gain qualifications, and participate in meaningful experiences (including paid opportunities) that will equip them to participate in employment, education, and community. It will include opportunities such as: 

• Free/low-cost micro-credential trainings and other job-readiness workshops and trainings, such as White Card and RSA
• Life skills workshops and trainings such as mental health first aid, self-defense, cooking/nutrition
• Workshops that support young people to gain skills in industries they're interested in, such as music, media/creative skills, IT, horticulture, tourism/events, etc.
• Paid opportunities for young people to co-design and deliver activities for other young people 
   

Who can get involved? 

This project and its programs will be open to young people aged 12-18. The project was designed to support young people at risk of disengagement to reconnect with education, employment, or community. This means that if you or a young person you know is aged 12 - 18 and has low school attendance, is unemployed, or can be identified as at risk of disengagement in another way, they are eligible to participate in the project. 

Participants can opt in to as many or as few opportunities as are provided throughout the project. Participants can also get involved in opportunities as part of both the YOSkills and YOConnect programs. This means a young person may sign up for the project to participate in a one-off specific opportunity, or they may be interested in getting involved in an ongoing capacity. For example: 

• Example of participant signing up for a specific one-off opportunity - 15-year-old John wants to pursue a pathway to employment outside of school through an apprenticeship, but needs a White Card to access an apprenticeship program. John can sign up for Level-Up & Overcome, participate in White Card training, and then not engage in any further opportunities.
• Example of participant being referred with opportunities in mind - 17-year-old Jane only attends school once a week. Jane's teacher refers her to Level-Up & Overcome so she can participate in the opportunities in the YOConnect program. After Jane's referral, a YO Bendigo staff member meets with Jane to talk about the different opportunities, and Jane chooses to join an ongoing social group and attend a number of social connection events. She also receives invitations to opportunities in the YOSkills program and participates in a painting workshop, as she is interested in art.
• Example of participant being referred without knowing what they want to get involved in - 16-year-old James knows he wants to get his first job soon, but isn't sure what he wants to do or how to get started. After receiving James' referral, a YO Bendigo staff member invites James to a number of opportunities through the YOSkills program. 
   

How do I get involved?

There are 3 ways to get involved in the project. 
 

1 - Fill out a Self-referral form. 
We have made this process as simple as possible to make it accessible for all young people. We can provide further support to any young person interested in completing the form, and we are happy to answer questions about it. Once the form is completed, it will be sent to a staff member from YO Bendigo, who will be in contact with further information and the free discount code for activities for young people aged 12-18 years. Please don't purchase tickets before receiving this discount code, as it is added to the Gotix ticketing code section (shown below) before completing the purchase.
 

2 - Schools and local support services can refer young people to the project by filling out this Youth Referral Form here. 

3 - Young people who have an idea, skill, passion, or hobby they would love to share can also get involved in becoming a paid workshop facilitator, where they will be supported to design and deliver a workshop for other young people. To find out more information on becoming a youth facilitator, email yobendigo.com.au (email body around "hi, I am interested in becoming a youth facilitator) or complete the linked Youth Facilitator EOI form here.
 

Funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services