What is the National Careers Institute Partnership Grants?
The National Careers Institute Partnership Grants program provides funding to enhance partnerships with industry, employers, schools and tertiary institutions to deliver innovative career advisory products and services for people at all stages of their careers.
Background
The National Careers Institute Partnership Grants program (the program) was announced as part of the 2019-20 Federal Budget measure, ‘Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow’. Round 3 was announced as part of the 2021-22 Federal Budget.
The objectives for round 3 of the program are to:
- create greater awareness of career pathways and career information for women with a focus on women returning to work from a career break, women in non-traditional industries and occupations, or industries where women are under-represented (including at senior levels)
- contribute to an evidence base for addressing the needs of women undertaking training and apprenticeships
- enhance partnerships between industry, employers, schools and tertiary providers that support women through traditional and non-traditional career pathways.
The intended outcomes of the program are:
- enhanced career pathways that help women of working age to reach their full career potential
- increased understanding by women of skills and attributes sought by employers including in new and emerging industries
- stronger local collaboration in the delivery of career guidance to women of working age
- improved quality of locally based career guidance to women of working age.
Funding
The National Careers Institute Partnership Grants program provides grants from $20,000 to $350,000 for up to 12 months to enhance partnerships with industry, employers, schools and tertiary institutions to deliver innovative career advisory products and services for people at all stages of their careers.
Eligible Projects
To be eligible for the National Careers Institute Partnership Grants, your project must:
- target support to working age women between 16 and 64 years of age
- be aimed at developing or expanding innovative approaches to improving career guidance projects, activities or services as referenced in the glossary in section 14 of the guidelines
- address career guidance service gaps by developing and/or enhancing partnerships between schools, tertiary providers, community groups and employers/employer groups, industry bodies and training providers
- have at least $20,000 in eligible expenditure.
Eligible activities may include but are not limited to:
- delivering innovative approaches to providing career guidance programs, initiatives or services directly assisting:
- women whose careers have been impacted by:
- COVID-19
- family responsibilities
- domestic or family violence
- unemployed women
- women in their mid to late career
- women transitioning into the workforce
- Indigenous women
- migrant women
- women whose careers have been impacted by:
- career guidance programs, initiatives or services assisting women to access career pathways into non-traditional roles
- organisations/groups (focussed on women and/or women’s issues) establishing or enhancing career guidance programs, initiatives or services with business/industry partners
- activities that build career guidance capacity in organisations/groups (focussed on women and/or women’s issues) and facilitate stronger links between such organisations/groups, industry/employers and training organisations
- building career advice capacity for young women in upper secondary schools and facilitating stronger links between schools, tertiary education providers, industry and employers
- growing careers advisor industry awareness of new and emerging industries and skills in demand, enhancing connections to industry and employers.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible you must have an Australian business number (ABN) and be one of the following entities:
- an entity, incorporated in Australia
- an incorporated not for profit organisation
- a secondary school that is registered with a state or territory authority
- an Australian local government agency or body as defined in section 14 of the guidelines
- an Australian State/Territory Government agency or body.
Joint applications are mandatory and you must have a lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply. For further information on joint applications, refer to section 7.1 of the grant guidelines.
A government school that does not have its own ABN may apply using their state or territory department’s ABN in their application.
The program can only accept applications where you have identified one or more partners that will support the delivery of your project. You must include partners from both categories (unless you are one of the categories) below:
- a school/group of schools, a tertiary education provider/group or a community organisation/group, or a career advisory organisation/body
- an employer/employer group, industry body (including business bodies) or training provider (including group training organisations).
If you, as the lead applicant fall under one category, you only need to include a partner from the other category.
Timing
Applications for Round 3 close 02 December 2021.
