Schools and youth training agencies have welcomed state Labor’s promise to restore funding after major cuts were announced to the joint federal-state local education and employment networks scheme.
Labor has said that if it wins the state election in November, it will fund the Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLEN) program, which connects schools, employment agencies and the council with people aged 10 to 19.
The Hume and Whittlesea LLEN works directly with about 4000 students each year, providing them and their families with resources to ensure young people are supported to stay in school and transition from primary to secondary to tertiary education.
But the scheme failed to win support in this year’s federal budget and will be shunted if it doesn’t receive adequate support from the state government, Hume and Whittlesea LLEN partnership, broker Nicky Leitch said.
Ms Leitch said the LLEN offered vital support for young people and ensured they weren’t “lost in the cracks”.
“School disengagement is very high for our community,” she said.
“If we take away the advocacy voice for the vulnerable, I despair what will happen to those young people.”
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Martin Dixon said the government would be “making an announcement shortly regarding arrangements for next year”.
