Community services

The Community Services Gateway to Industry Schools project is designed to advance the opportunities for youth in Queensland's growing community services sector through cohesive locally relevant partnerships.

From community care to youth justice, from homelessness to disability support, the community services sector serves as an entrance to enduring and diverse careers.

However connecting to industry and gaining experience is often difficult for young people and schools.

Working with young people, schools, industry employers, trainers, universities and families to ensure a strong training and experiential pathway for tomorrows community services leaders, the project builds on the following principles:

• Discovery – Boosting awareness of young people, their families and school professionals through access to current information and professional development on the community services sector.
• Experiential learning – Exposure to meaningful experiences to 'learn and do' and allow young people a real-life view of working with, and in, the community.
• Connections that count – Access directly to prospective employers, vocational trainers and universities regarding ways to gain an advantage for futures in this sector.
• Clarity – Ability to plan the right pathways and navigate the immediate and future steps to gain qualifications and skills while still at school and post-school.
• Differentiation – Preparation that fast tracks school leavers for employment or tertiary specialisation and identifies participating schools as local launching grounds for community services careers.

Participating schools

The project is open to both private and public schools. Contact the project manager to get involved.

Project partners

Lead partner, National Disability Services (NDS), is Australia's peak body for non-government disability service organisations, representing over 1080 non-government service providers. Collectively, NDS members operate several thousand services for Australians.

More information

Find out more about the Community Services Gateway to Industry Schools project.

Contact information

Contact the project manager.

Last updated 21 December 2022