Evaluation of the Indigenous Employment Programs - Final Report

This evaluation reports on the Indigenous Employment Programs (IEP), drawing on the historical context of each sub-program to provide insight in design, implementation and impact. The in-scope sub-programs are:

• Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) – seeks to connect Indigenous jobseekers with guaranteed employment by providing necessary support services to prepare jobseekers for long-term employment, as well as training through industry employers.
• Employment Parity Initiative (EPI) – works alongside large Australian companies, encouraging them to commit to Indigenous workforce targets and embed recruitment and retention strategies within their organisation.
• Tailored Assistance Employment Grants – Employment (TAEG) – provides activities that seek to support Indigenous jobseekers with commencing sustainable jobs and providing employer support to assist with attracting and retaining Indigenous Australians.

The IEPs are part of the Australian Government’s Indigenous advancement strategy (IAS) program 1.1.

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) engaged Deliotte Access Economics to evaluate the IEPs on the following objectives:

1. The appropriateness of program design and implementation.
2. The extent to which expected outcomes of each program have been achieved (effectiveness).
3. How efficiently the program funding has been used and the implications for policy and future impact.