Youth Employment Academy Launches

A specialist youth employment academy, described as an Australian first, has been launched by a Melbourne entrepreneur to give young people a better chance of finding meaningful work.

The Fingerprint Me Youth Employment Academy offers “evidence-based intensive programs” to help young people transition from study to work and then onto successful careers.

The academy also offers scholarships to support disadvantaged young Australians aged 15 to 25-years-old through its new FM Foundation.

Founder and Executive Director, Peter Coronica, said he established the academy after realising young people were ill equipped for life in the workforce and this was affecting their overall happiness.

A hospitality entrepreneur and successful author, Coronica has employed more than 1000 young people during 25 years as a Melbourne restaurateur.

He said he sold his restaurant business to follow his passion of helping young people achieve their own employment dreams.

He said that after two years researching education-to-work transitions and youth employment outcomes around the world, he conceived the idea of Fingerprint Me, which he has established with Melbourne psychiatrist, Dr Christine Kotsios.

“A one-stop shop for youth employment services, the academy combines career coaches, counsellors, employers, and mental health specialists to help young people build clear pathways to employment,” Coronica said.

“Working with private enterprise, community organisations, education bodies and parents, it creates an ideal learning environment for students to equip themselves with the skills required to get their foot through the door.”

The academy includes two programs: the My Fingerprint Profile program is a short online course using an industry skills matrix to point young people in the direction of the most suitable in demand career. The second, known as Scope, helps 15 to 24-year-olds establish a career path following seven stages of preparation and training.

The FM Foundation is the Not for Profit arm of the Fingerprint Me Youth Employment Academy and Coronica says it has been developed to support disadvantaged young Australians aged 15 to 25 years to reach their education and career goals.

Young people who are eligible to access the programs and support services provided by the FM Foundation may be experiencing a range of barriers such as:

• Social/Economic Disadvantage – may result from, but is not limited to, a breakdown in family/community support, low-income, poor education, drug and/or alcohol dependency, homelessness, physical or mental disability, being a refugee or of non-English speaking background or a combination of these factors.

• Disadvantage amongst Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Youth – with an emphasis on school retention/attendance, poor literacy and numeracy, social exclusion or a combination of these factors.

• Locational Disadvantage – specifically due to living in areas of low socio-economic status, regional and remote areas of Australia.