A note from our Chair I am proud to be writing this foreword as Chair of the Board of IntoWork Australia, which has developed and grown to become the leading national for purpose (not-for-profit) provider of Employment, Skills & Education, and Support services in Australia. We began 40 years ago, when four councils came together to find a solution for the rising unemployment and lack of training opportunities for young people in the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne. Our commitment to positive social impact has not wavered since that day. Whether it be through our range of high quality services, our advocacy on behalf of the individuals, communities and businesses we serve, or our commitment to support all participants to achieve their aspirations, our vision of Vibrant Futures guides us.
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Astute business planning and strong governance over the last four decades has put IntoWork in a strong and sustainable position. I would like to recognise many Directors of both IntoWork and its related entities who have worked effectively and diligently to create the integrated IntoWork Group of 19 Businesses operating across every state and territory today. This, along with our determination to provide equitable access to educational, economic and social participation for all, will see us continue to evolve and grow for many years to come. As I reflect on how far we’ve come and celebrate this amazing milestone, I am confident for our future both across IntoWork and Australia as a whole. Elizabeth Board Chair - IntoWork Australia
“We’ve continued to grow and diversify to meet the evolving needs of individuals, employers and communities...” - Elizabeth Board
“We have supported hundreds of thousands of individuals to reach their life and career goals...” - Poul Bottern
A note from our Group CEO Today IntoWork Australia is the largest integrated national for-purpose provider of Employment, Skills & Education, and Support services that enable educational, economic and social participation. In this, our 40th year, we currently support over 100,000 individuals across the country through working closely with over 60,000 employers each year. We have come a long way from our humble beginning as a small Apprenticeship scheme servicing Melbourne’s inner north. We began with six apprentices and two staff members working out of a single room in a shared office in Brunswick. Over the last four decades, we have supported hundreds of thousands of individuals to reach their life and career goals. We’ve worked with tens of thousands of businesses, as well as industry and government, to develop and deliver initiatives which have enriched communities and contributed to the strength of the Australian economy.
None of this could have been achieved without the strong support of our Board, and the dedication and collaboration of our leaders and staff. Equally vital has been the partnerships with other community organisations, industries and businesses we work with, and the confidence through all levels of government who trust us to deliver effective services. Together we have and will continue to make an incredible positive impact creating Vibrant Futures! Please enjoy this snapshot of the last 40 years as we celebrate the extraordinary positive social impact we’ve had so far. I hope you are as excited as I am about what we’re going to achieve over the next 40. Warm Regards, Poul Bottern Group CEO - IntoWork Australia
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Inner Northern Group Training (INGT) head office, Coburg
Contents A note from our Chair......................................................... iv A note from our Group CEO.............................................. vi The 1980’s.......................................................................... 3 Building an inclusive workforce.......................................... 7 The 1990’s.......................................................................... 9 The 2000’s.......................................................................... 13 An innovative approach to youth engagement.................. 17 The 2010’s.......................................................................... 19 Investing in our greatest asset............................................ 23 The 2020’s.......................................................................... 25 Supporting self-determination............................................ 31 Our journey......................................................................... 33 Governance........................................................................ 35 Our Vibrant Future.............................................................. 37
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Apprentices working on the INGT office refurbishment
The 1980’s In the early 80’s a consortium of Brunswick, Coburg, Fitzroy and Northcote Councils met to explore the feasibility of establishing a Group Training scheme in Melbourne’s inner north. Nationally, it was a period of rising unemployment and Councils such as these were experiencing firsthand the effects of unemployment, particularly amongst young people in the area. At the same time, Federal and State governments had supported industry leaders in establishing the concept of Group Training to fund mainly not-for-profit organisations to recruit and employ apprentices and place them with one or more host employers for the duration of their training. While unemployment was increasing, so too were Apprenticeship numbers. Councils were seeking a way to harness and build on this skills pathway.
The 1980’s
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Their plans came to fruition in 1983, when Inner Northern Group Apprentices Limited was officially launched with the base in Brunswick. Six apprentices were employed through the Group Training model and were hosted out to local businesses.
Expanding our Apprenticeship offering saw new cohorts
The initial focus was on Apprenticeships in high-demand areas of traditional trades including motor mechanics, fitting and turning, sheet metal, electrical mechanics and plumbing. By the end of the 80’s, we introduced Traineeships alongside the traditional Apprenticeship model. This offered a broader range of career options and saw an increasingly diverse cohort access training and employment opportunities.
Apprentices learned their trade in a workshop or on the job
Following this, we changed our name to Inner Northern Group Training (INGT) to reflect our expanded focus. By the end of the decade we had 120 apprentices and trainees on our books.
Motor mechanics apprentice working on a car
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The 1980’s
Coburg Civic Centre staff during redevelopment
Building an inclusive workforce Over our 40-year history we’ve driven initiatives to ensure equitable access to employment and training opportunities for all people. One area we’ve been consistently focusing on is increasing representation of women in traditionally male-dominated careers. Statistically, women make up a very low percentage of the skilled trades sector. Across the Group, several of our Businesses have developed and delivered programs and initiatives to support women into maledominated trades. This includes introducing pre-school leavers to trade careers and pre-apprenticeship programs, to advice and mentoring for mid-career women to transition into new careers in trades.
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Building an inclusive workforce
One example of our work in this space is AGA’s Women in Trades pre-employment program. By providing participants with practical information and hands-on skills, participants connected with potential employers and built networks for ongoing support in their new career. Initiatives such as these, along with Mas National’s range of Women in Trades career advice and mentoring supports, have made headway in breaking down barriers and increasing female representation. The success of these initiatives can be seen across the Group with some businesses recording three times the national average of female representation.
Jennah Halley, 2022 Australian Training Awards Apprentice of the Year
The 1990’s The early 90’s were a time of extremely high unemployment in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, however our Group Training model was proving successful. We were the fastest growing Group Training Organisation (GTO) out of the 102 operating in Australia. Council amalgamations saw our membership evolve, with the Cities of Darebin, Moreland (now Merri-bek) and Yarra established. These Councils remained committed to supporting our purpose. Knowing the transformational impact of providing individuals and communities with employment and training opportunities, we sought to create further pathways for people to engage with. We registered as a private training provider and secured funding for a range of broader employment programs to support disadvantaged jobseekers, as well as professional development programs to upskill existing workers.
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The 1990’s
Education Support Traineeships created new career pathways for people
Health and Community Services was added to our vocational offering
Working with businesses and local organisations, we developed initiatives to meet the needs of the communities in which we were working, including literacy and numeracy training, and programs for culturally and linguistically diverse clients. Demand for Apprenticeships and Traineeships continued to grow over the decade. We established Melbourne Apprenticeships Service (Mas) and secured Commonwealth funding for a new initiative as a New Apprenticeship Centre (NAC), supporting businesses to employ apprentices and trainees directly. While traditional trades were still popular, interest was growing in new and emerging areas including education, IT, land care and conservation, engineering and horticulture. School-based Apprenticeships were established, allowing even more people to access pathways to skilled employment.
Trainees worked towards a career in healthcare
The initiatives developed in this decade paved the way for a more inclusive and empowered workforce. As the turn of the century approached, we employed 419 apprentices and trainees and were supporting hundreds more to reach their work and training goals.
Mark Hughes completed his Certificate III in Business Administration
The 1990’s
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Apprenticeships Plus staff at the launch of the new business name
The 2000’s In 2000, we changed our governance structure to a skills-based Board of Directors, providing strategic oversight to guide our continued growth and evolution as a not-for-profit provider of employment, skills and training. The Board comprised four Independent Directors and three Member Directors representing each of the Member Councils. We adopted a new trading name - Apprenticeships Plus - to better reflect our expanding service offering and geographical spread. Our expansion outside of Victoria commenced in 2001, when Mas won a contract to deliver Apprenticeship services in New South Wales, in addition to Melbourne and regional Victoria. Shortly after, Mas acquired an Apprenticeship centre in South Australia and officially became Mas National.
The 2000’s
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INCF grant recipient - The Social Studio
In 2004, we welcomed Tasmanian company Work & Training. As an established not-for-profit organisation delivering GTO and Registered Training Organisation (RTO) services, they complemented our purpose and brought expertise in communities we had yet to reach. This strategic growth provided us with a strong network across four states, with the continued ability to deliver local and relevant services. Our unique offering positioned us well with government and industry to effectively respond to the growing demand for employment, skills and training. Ensuring we had the right governance and structure to support our journey, we formally established the INGT Group and appointed our first Group Executive Officer in 2007. While this was a decade of significant expansion, our commitment to supporting Melbourne’s inner north remained strong. Shamira, Fitzroy Learning Network participant
We introduced the Social Investments Program to use surplus funds on social initiatives. This led to the establishment of the Inner North Community Foundation (INCF) with an initial donation of $1 million from Apprenticeships Plus and another $5 million pledged over the next ten years to fund a range of Pathways to Employment initiatives. As 2010 approached, the number of apprentices and trainees we directly employed more than doubled to over 750, we supported thousands more apprentices, trainees and employers through our Apprenticeship services, and had established ourselves as a quality training provider.
The 2000’s
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An innovative approach to youth engagement The Cycle of Change program, developed to engage disadvantaged and vulnerable young people in Adelaide’s north, started as a local success story but has since become a nationwide blueprint for success.
Program graduates received a BMX bike to reinforce that hard work, persistence and dedication pays off. Participants also received post program support to help them continue towards their life and work goals.
Developed by Mas National in partnership with Lighthouse Youth Projects, the innovative approach saw traditional classroom style learning replaced with practical, hands-on activities - in this case BMX riding.
The success of Cycle of Change drew interest from governments and organisations.
Woven throughout the program were three key themes - skills development, mentorship and support, and access to employment opportunities. The BMX bike acted as a vehicle of engagement. Learning to ride and performing tricks encouraged participants to redirect their thrill-seeking behaviours into more positive activities and gain a sense of achievement. It also supported the integration of new learnings, included vocational skills and life skills such as financial literacy, goal setting and resilience. Gamification, through a smartphone app, was used keep the participants motivated and engaged. It featured personal development activities, links to local support services, community events and vocational opportunities.
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An innovative approach to youth engagement
This innovative framework has now been replicated around the country, with activities tailored to local participants. This includes Melbourne’s western suburbs, where AGA supported by Victoria Police, delivers Flip My Ride which is centred around restoring a car. To date, similar programs have also been delivered in other areas of South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland. “You meet a lot of people while you’re there and learn a lot of skills that you can actually use and to help you into employment… it’s a really great program to be a part of,” TRAILS participant, Erica Weir.
Cycle of Change 2017 graduates
The 2010’s We began this decade as a respected provider of Apprenticeships and Traineeships. Our reputation for delivering quality training remained strong, and our philanthropic activity continued. By 2012 we had donated $2.5 million to INCF to fund pathways to employment initiatives.
Apprentice on the tools during training
We developed and delivered initiatives to provide equitable access to employment, education and social participation. These ranged from tailored programs for disadvantaged jobseekers, and adult language, literacy and numeracy courses; to programs supporting people living with a disability and disengaged youth. We continued to expand our service, including Process Plus, providing outsourced Apprenticeship and Traineeship administration services for government and private sector. We welcomed our first Group CEO, and acquired temporary and permanent staffing recruitment specialists Stockdale Personnel and Devereux Recruitment. With these additions to the Group and more growth on the horizon, we changed our name to IntoWork Australia in 2014.
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The 2010’s Apprentice cook learning on the job
School based Agriculture Trainee, Zara Hogan, at work
Monique Vadja, Light Automotive apprentice award winner
Apprenticeships Plus business trainee
Soon after, FindStaff, Institute of Training and Further Education (iTFE), Business & Employment, Rogan Family Care, O Group and Plexus Medical Recruitment became part of the Group, as well as the large Gippsland-born company, Apprenticeships Group Australia (AGA). Between 2015 and 2016, we expanded again - this time in Queensland. Apprenticeship, training and youth homelessness service provider Capricornia Training Company (CTC), Apprenticeship and training provider MRAEL and its subsidiary companies - Australian Trade College North Brisbane and Australian Trade Training College - were welcomed to the Group. To recognise our focus and commitment to people living with a disability, we significantly expanded our disability services, with Interact Australia joining the Group and subsequently winning a larger contract to deliver Disability Employment Services in South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland. Furthering our commitment to Reconciliation, we began formalising Reconciliation Action Plans within the Group. Our vision was, and remains, to build strong relationships built on respect and self-determination with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations. Our aim is to ensure First Nations peoples have equitable access to opportunities and services shared with other Australians. By the end of this decade we had delivered employment, skills, education and support services to tens of thousands of individuals, employers and communities in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.
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The 2010’s
Interact Australia and Hopeworks’ collaboration provides students with real workplace experience
Investing in our greatest asset We know first-hand the transformational impact having access to development opportunities has on both individuals and businesses.
To further strengthen our commitment to growing our people and our business we introduced the IntoWork Leadership Academy.
Every year we help tens of thousands of businesses with their workforce development needs to help them find, skill and retain staff to meet current and future business needs.
The Academy offers an annual program of training for frontline leaders, senior leaders, and emerging executive leaders to develop their skills and capability across the Group.
As a proud employer of over 1,800 people around Australia, we ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to our own staff.
They are provided with exposure to the broader Businesses and Boards, coaching and mentoring, work placement opportunities, and training in key business areas such as finance, governance, people and culture, and technology.
We support every member of our team to participate in skills development relevant to both their current role and their longer-term career aspirations. This ensures we have a workforce that is equipped with contemporary knowledge and skills to be able to deliver high quality services to our customers, and a culture that promotes lifelong learning.
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Investing in our greatest asset
Graduates from these programs have achieved promotions within the Group up to CEO level.
2022 IntoWork Leadership Academy Emerging Executive Leader Graduates, IntoWork Chair of the Board and Leadership Team
Poul Bottern, Group CEO, at Jobs and Skills Summit 2022
The 2020’s In early 2020, along with the rest of the world, we found ourselves facing unprecedented challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic. Our Group of Businesses were quick to mobilise and support not only our own staff, but the individuals, businesses and communities we serve. We advocated for government to invest in Apprenticeship and Employment Pathways, and administered programs such as Building Apprenticeship Commencements to help offset the impact of the pandemic on workforce and skills development. We made a commitment to our staff to retain and support them, and adapted our services and programs to minimise disruption to service delivery. We worked with employers to understand the implications for their businesses, helped them navigate the pandemic and connected them to available supports. Through INCF, we further supported the community with disaster relief funds. This period was a test of our courage, resilience, adaptability, innovation and commitment to our core purpose.
The 2020’s
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In parallel to our Covid response, we continued our strategic growth, and took steps to becoming a truly national organisation. Two Apprenticeship organisations (GTO’s) - Hospitality Training Network (HTN) and Kestrel Recruitment - joined us in 2020, increasing our service delivery in New South Wales, regional Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. A year later DGT entered the Group, bringing its Queensland-based RTO and GTO service offering.
AGA Trade Apprentice Award Winner James Chol
We took another step in our Reconciliation journey, employing a network of First Nations Advisors across Australia to help us identify opportunities and work alongside First Nations peoples, co-design relevant programs and provide cultural competency training, advice and mentoring. In 2021, our Council Members agreed to a change in our governance in which they relinquished their membership, allowing a more contemporary governance model. This change more accurately reflects the broad national framework we now inhabit. Alongside this, the Councils made a commitment to become actively involved in governance of INCF and we made a 30-year operational and corpus funding commitment to support INCF in pathways to employment initiatives.
HTN Student, Phillipa Bright, wins the AAFP Margaret Fulton Future Foods Service Professional Scholarship
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The 2020’s
Paul Constable Calcott - Respectful Interact March 2023 - Acrylic on canvas
IntoJobs mobile team at Blue Lake, South Australia
2022 saw us move into employment services as we won contracts under the new Workforce Australia program. We launched IntoJobs in July, which - along with delivery partners - delivers services across Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Our Group CEO attended the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra with 100 key Australians, to address our shared economic challenges through the focus of building a bigger, better trained and more productive workforce. Later that year, we added temporary and permanent recruitment services to our offering in the Australian Capital Territory. 2023 marked a significant expansion into Western Australia, with the acquisition of Skill Hire, Nara Training & Assessing, Hunter Executive Search Consultants and GO2 Recruitment. This allowed us to deliver more Apprenticeships, Traineeships, recruitment and employment services across the state. Further, in recognition of our commitment to Reconciliation and supporting self-determination, we made significant donations to two First Nations led organisations - Indigenous Literacy Foundation and Thirrili, an Indigenous Suicide Prevention Service.
The 2020’s
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Supporting self-determination We are proud to partner with First Nations peoples, communities and organisations to develop initiatives identified through self-determination. In Mackay, where we deliver a range of employment, Apprenticeship and skills programs, it was identified there was an absence locally of tailored, culturally relevant pre-placement support for First Nations jobseekers. In response, IntoJobs and MRAEL engaged with First Nations program facilitators and community representatives to co-design “Moving the Mob”, a holisitic program that focuses on the participant’s own story and what support they want to move to the next stage of their journey. It covered both personal and employment related goal setting, money management, health and wellbeing, work readiness, local labour market information, career options, and access to further training.
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Supporting self-determination
Leveraging the IntoWork Group’s strong local relationships, employers were engaged to provide insights and employment opportunities. They were also offered Cultural Competency training to help support their new employees. Through the program participants co-created their personalised plan to coordinate ongoing support for their social, emotional, cultural, education, and employment goals beyond the program. The pilot program achieved 100% attendance and saw sustainable employment for a number of participants. Subsequent programs have seen consistently high engagement and outcomes. The success of this collaboration has attracted interest from across Australia, with IntoJobs and its local delivery partners engaging in local community partnerships to co-deliver Moving the Mob in more locations.
Pre-placement program, Moving the Mob, participants
Our journey Our Purpose: To be the leading national provider of Employment, Skills & Education, and Support services.
INCF was established as a charity to support pathways to employment
INGA
Trading name changed from Inner Northern Group Apprentices to Inner Northern Group Training
1983
1988
Melbourne Apprenticeships Service is established
1993
Our Registered Training Organisation was established
1998
2001
INGT changed its trading name to Apprenticeships Plus
2004
2005
2007
2011
Apprenticeships Plus branding was refreshed
Apprenticeships Plus trading name changed to APlus 33
Our journey
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012
Trading name changed from INGT Group to IntoWork Australia
2013
2014
APlus merged with AGA with the new entity trading as AGA from August 2016
2015
2016
IntoJobs was launched to deliver IntoWork’s Workforce Australia Contract
2017
2020
2022
2023
FUTURE
Brand evolution
Our journey
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Governance IntoWork Australia Board The Boards within IntoWork Australia would like to express their appreciation to past Board members and staff who have worked tirelessly to build up what is a highly regarded and valued provider of workforce solutions in Australia. Directors of IntoWork Australia
Patron of IntoWork Australia
Elizabeth Board Chair
Kevin Neville Deputy Chair
Hon. Alan Brown AM
Dale Archer
Kevin Breen
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Governance
Julie-Anne Busch
Poul Bottern Group CEO and Company Secretary
IntoWork Group Directors and C-Suite
Creating Vibrant Futures
Amanda Solly
Damian Lacey
Leeann Rayner
Andrew Frost
David Power
Nicolas West
Beau Vernon
Jacinta Whitehead
Nunzia Confessore
Chris Deakin
Jamie Barden
Ron Browne
Christine Zechowski
John Glass
Steve Wyborn
Craig McGrath
Leanne Wallace
Tom King
*Some Directors operate across multiple entities. As of October 2023 Governance
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Our Vibrant Future As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we reflect on our positive social impact to date. What started as a small organisation employing six apprentices and two staff members, has grown into a Group that has more than 1,800 staff across 200 locations in every state and territory in Australia. Our unique value proposition of national reach and local delivery allows us to support over 100,000 individuals and over 60,000 businesses each year across five core areas of Apprenticeships and Traineeships, Education, Training and Development, Employment and Recruitment, Transition and Career Advice and Community Support Programs. The journey continues with our passionate commitment to Vibrant Futures for our people, our communities, our businesses, our country and our partners across Australia and beyond.
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Our Vibrant Future
1983
2023
1
19
1
200+
2
1,800+
6
60,000+
6
100,000+
Businesses in the Group
Office locations
Staff
Employers we work with
People positively impacted annually
Looking back on yesterday, to
Research and content curation: IntoWork Communications and Marketing Team Story development: IntoWork Communications and Marketing Team Historical photography and content credit: Dr Paul Scofield Design and production: IntoWork Marketing Team © IntoWork Australia, November 2023