Client: Department of Jobs and Small Business- Youth Jobs PaTH
Project: Eight video case studies with two versions. Cut downs of approximately twenty seconds to be delivered for each version for social media.
Brief: Promoting the services of Youth Jobs PaTH, supported by individual case studies and real stories from protagonists.
What is Youth Jobs PaTH?
Youth Jobs PaTH is a flexible new approach to youth employment. It is designed to support young people to gain the employability skills and work experience they need to get and keep a job. It also supports employers to host internship placements and provides them with incentives when they take on a young person.
Interview with Jess Horgan, Producer:
How many videos have you filmed for Youth Jobs PaTH?
“We filmed eight case studies which had two versions, and then made cut downs for social media which were about fifteen to thirty seconds.”
Where did you travel for this project?
“We got to travel all over Australia to places like Esperance in Western Australia, Melbourne, Moe which is just out of Melbourne, Mudgee, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Brisbane and several regional towns out of the main cities in Australia. We visited every state except Northern Territory and Tasmania.”
What was your favourite story out of the case studies?
“My favourite case study was definitely in Belli Park which is near Noosa. It was on a young girl named Billie who had come from a very broken family. She was kicked out of home at 14. She got stuck into hanging around the wrong crowd and started getting into lots of trouble and really going nowhere. She had been to several employment providers and no one was helping her because they were just trying to throw her into hospitality or retail jobs that she wasn’t interested in. Her love was for horses, and all the employment service providers that she had previously been too didn’t really try to play towards her interests. She finally visited Busy at Work, and her employment provider actually listened to her for the first time and got her into a placement on a Youth Jobs PaTH trial at a horse stable doing grooming and training. It’s actually a place where the horses help people with a disability through therapy. Billie has come so far through the program, she’s on the right path and earning her own income. She’s actually gotten her driver’s license through Busy at Work and she’s so much more motivated. She went from being quiet and angry to a bubbly and confident girl. Youth Jobs PaTH helped her significantly and I found that story really inspirational.”
Where there any challenges?
“One of the main challenges was that the interviewees were young people, so a lot of them were very nervous. They do often come from broken families or disadvantaged situations, so they don’t really have confidence to talk on camera. That’s a challenge in itself for me, getting them to tell their story confidently and articulately. But, there’s ways around that and ways to put them at ease, reassuring them there are no rules and you can do as many takes as you like. You can pause and stutter and that’s all fine. So, I think explaining the film process to younger people before the interview starts is a good way to go about it, so they’re not thrown into the deep end and not too uncomfortable.”
How are our case studies helping promote this employment initiative?
“I think because the videos are real people and they’re off the cuff and not scripted, that you really hear the emotion coming through and you can even see it in their eyes how proud they are of themselves. You can really sense that authenticity. It’s a good way for the audience, who are also young job seekers, to relate and feel inspired.”
How have these videos been used?
“The videos have been used on the Job Active website as case studies to encourage job seekers and employers to go through the Youth Jobs PaTH program, as well as the thirty second social media cut down videos which have been posted on Facebook.”
How has our animation been used to promote the initiative?
“It has been published on the website as well as on social media, targeted at young job seekers. We wanted to make a really fun and upbeat animation, which was short and sharp and really to the point. I think it was really well done and it’s been published online.”
How do you feel about the finished product?
“The videos have been received really well and I’m really happy with how its turned out. They’re going to be really effective, so I’m impressed. Overall, it’s a great campaign and I really enjoyed working with Youth Jobs PaTH.”
