"By creating a digital marketing studio with paid traineeships and real-world job placements we were able to equip our trainees with not only technical skills but also creative skills." - Enterprise Trainer, Rachel Whitworth
What is Unscripted?
Working with government departments, yourtown has been proud to develop Unscripted, an Australian-first training program equipping young people with the digital, creative and interpersonal skills needed to thrive in a modern office environment.
yourtown is one of the pioneers of work-based social enterprises in Australia, providing young people with paid work experience and training through a range of programs and initiatives delivered with the support of Enterprise Trainers and Youth Workers.
Through the program, eight Digital Trainees explore their strengths through a five-month course covering a range of disciplines including graphic design, coding, email marketing, video editing, social media and website building.
Helping young people realise their potential
Rachel, Unscripted Enterprise Trainer says the program has offered participants a unique balance of opportunities.
"For many of them it was about building the momentum to join the workforce for the first time - gaining consistency, turning up every day, getting used to work culture," she says.
While the participants equipped themselves with in-demand employment capabilities, they also grew self-confidence, belonging, collaboration and camaraderie, developed through an opportunity of a type they wouldn’t normally be given.
"Many of our participants may not have had a lot of support through school or previous workplaces, or they may have different abilities or neurodiversities, so them being able to gain confidence in their abilities was such an important outcome," Rachel says.
"It meant so much to these young people to actually have this opportunity. They started off not believing it was going to be possible for them but the work they produced was out of this world."
Daniel, one of the first Unscripted participants, not only built his self-belief and found collaborators for a video game idea but found secure employment shortly after completing the program.
"I used to have a doubt in my existing skills however after completing the program I have developed a confidence that I can take advantage of any skills I have and will develop in the future," he says.
A number of the participants from the first Unscripted program have since found employment (including here, at yourtown), while others have built the confidence to pursue further education.
yourtown gave Eden the confidence he needed
Eden was a participant in the very first Unscripted training program who now proudly works with yourtown’s marketing team. We asked him to sum up his experience:
"Unscripted fostered an environment where we were all able to look inward and develop confidence, figure out who we were, and where we wanted to be in our careers and lives," he says.
"The way I viewed myself and my trajectory in life, my skills, completely did a 180. I know that there are countless young people feeling lost like I was, struggling to find their place, who they are, and what their skills are.
"The program gave me financial stability, and a hospitable, educational environment to build myself back up.
"Unscripted was an educational, and personable experience that I’m not sure I could have found elsewhere."
