Bunuru’s Approach to Youth Empowerment

Bunuru is contracted to take referrals from Youth Justice Services for young people involved with the criminal justice system. The referrals are for up to 10 young people per school term, between the ages of 15 and 18. Bunuru participants develop practical knowledge around a range of employment pathways as well as everyday non-vocational skills. A significant percentage of the young people in the program have numeracy and literacy barriers, and we work closely with each young person to increase capacity and work readiness.

The demographic within the program are young people from different cultural backgrounds but the common theme across the cohort is that they all face significant barriers that impact on their ability to gain employment. The structure of the program, combined with young people being able to experience “real life” working skills has provided proven, positive outcomes for participants. The primary program outcome is for the young people to engage and maintain age and developmentally appropriate education, training or employment.