Think & Grow – Helping people find ‘meaningful work’ in difficult times

After the global financial crisis (GFC), Think & Grow created their Retrain program to help people find work in a difficult marketplace. They were also able to implement this program after COVID-19 hit, working alongside the Victorian Government to introduce ‘Opening Doors for Victorians to Move into High-Tech Jobs’.

Deepak Singh, partner at Think & Grow, has supported a number of studies with state and federal governments to recognise what happens to employment in these difficult situations.

“When COVID-19 hit, we went to the Victorian Government as a first step and said, ‘Everything we spoke about in the past is happening now’. We also knew that we could prove this hypothesis that we had, that there were many people out there that had the necessary essential skills, and that there was a huge opportunity to help these people transfer into industries with need,” said Mr Singh.

“The [Victorian] Government agreed and backed us to launch a pilot program to coach roughly 200 people displaced through COVID-19, and help at least 140 of them transfer into future economy roles.”

The program has helped participants to improve their own careers by introducing them to the world of technology and how to utilise this knowledge in the workforce. As of the end of 2021, the program had placed 186 of 206 candidates into meaningful work.

With 92 per cent moving into more digitally focused roles and a 92 per cent overall satisfaction score, the company was thrilled with not just the program but the people coming on board.

Mr Singh noted that the key to these positive outcomes was open-mindedness, as thinking outside the box is essential to long-term success.

“Unfortunately, we all have biases so I think it's really important to recognise that there is a bias from time to time. And sometimes we have to – including myself – open up a bit and be open to other experiences,” he explained.

The organisation has placed such a strong emphasis on tech as, according to Mr Singh, there is a shortage of tech workers. Coupled with this is the misconception that tech is only programming and development, which actually only makes up a third of these roles.

“Australia needs an additional 650,000 tech workers by the end of this decade. That's a 30 per cent uplift. That's a huge number we need in this economy. And current research also shows that tech jobs are one of Australia's greatest forces for belonging and social mobility,” outlined Mr Singh.

“The data also suggests that there's an opportunity for priority groups of [people] to be better placed to enter this industry with upskilling. So hence, our focus on driving change by supporting equitable practices to priority groups of people, to move into these high-focus sectors, and hopefully in the process, future-proofing our economies and just as importantly, people's livelihoods.”

These programs have seen 75 per cent of candidates coming from ‘priority groups’. According to Mr Singh, this means they are from more marginalised backgrounds and/or may be finding it difficult to find work. This includes women over 45, people under 25, those from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disabilities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“If you think over the last few years and COVID-19, some of these people under 25 maybe don't have that work experience under the belt that maybe you and I might have had,” said Mr Singh.

“There is a large group of people with great skills and ability, and lived experience, that may be seen as more ‘undiscovered talent’. So, this is who we want to focus on and creating more opportunity for them.”

The transcript of this podcast episode, when quoted above, was slightly edited for publishing purposes. The full conversation with Deepak Singh is below.

  

The following references have been kindly provided by Mr Singh:
More information on Think & Grow’s ‘Project One’.
Research mentioned in this episode by the Tech Council of Australia.