Post by Banjo on Jun 12, 2014 7:58:56 GMT 7
Job placements under JSA program plunge by a quarter in three years
Audit report highlights 'significant decline' but was unable to point to specific causes
The number of work placements achieved by the federal government’s $1.4bn Jobs Services Australia (JSA) program has declined by 25% over three years.
An audit report published on Wednesday highlighted the “significant decline” in job placements from 480,000 in 2010-11 to 360,000 in 2012-13, but was unable to pinpoint the precise causes.
The program, delivered by about 85 contracted service providers, has a target of achieving 450,000 job placements a year.
The extent to which the decline was attributable to a reduction in program performance or to external factors was unclear, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report said.
The report called on the Department of Employment to improve its performance indicators and explanation of results, noting the program costs would total $10bn between 2009 and 2015.
The findings come as the federal government pursues tougher policies to ensure young people are “earning or learning” and follow political debate over jobs in light of the closure of major manufacturing companies.
JSA was created by the former Labor government in July 2009 to help unemployed people find work.
The report said the $1.4bn-a-year program primarily helps people in receipt of government benefits including Newstart, Youth Allowance and other income support. Some 700,000 to 800,000 job seekers receive assistance at any one time, it said.
During 2012-13 about 40% to 50% of those assisted were employed, 15% to 20% were no longer looking for work, and the rest were unemployed.
The report said the Department of Employment had overall “appropriately managed the delivery” of the program and “appropriate action was taken” in the event of poorer performance by providers.
The department had also committed to reducing the volume and frequency of change of operational guidelines to service providers, and improving its risk management practices.
In its response to the findings, and the call for better performance information, the department said it would review its public reporting approach as part of the employment services program arrangements from 2015.
“The department will endeavour to be more explicit about what the programme is intending to achieve, how it is influenced by external factors and how success is measured,” it said.
www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/11/job-placements-under-jsa-program-plunge-by-a-quarter-in-three-years