Good Cycles, a social enterprise on a mission to create meaningful pathways for young people facing barriers to employment, has partnered with Riverlee at New Epping to look after the maintenance of the landscape. We sat down with Good Cycles’ General Manager of its Good Spaces division Matt Collins to have a conversation about the partnership and how it is supporting employment opportunities in the region.
Can you tell us about Good Cycles and its mission?
Good Cycles is a social enterprise on a mission to create inclusive employment opportunities for young people and positive community impact. We have four divisions focused on different services – horticulture and asset maintenance, deliveries and logistics, managed workforce partnerships and bicycle retail and servicing – all of which ladder up to our overarching goals around empowering people facing employment barriers and environmental sustainability.
Our programs work with young people from a range of communities experiencing marginalisation, including those with lived experience of mental health challenges or disability, previous contact with the justice system and long-term unemployment. We work alongside these young people to empower them to find meaningful employment opportunities that contribute to more sustainable communities.
How is Good Cycles’ contributing to sustainable communities at New Epping?
Our “Good Spaces” division provides landscaping and ground maintenance services across Riverlee’s New Epping development.
Our work includes cutting grass across the site, snipping the edges, litter removal, maintenance and repair, controlling noxious weeds, bushfire prevention by maintaining fire cuts, and improving safety by clearing plants around important areas such as children’s playgrounds. We contribute to keeping the landscape healthy and welcoming for the New Epping community to enjoy, while providing important employment opportunities and upskilling for young people facing barriers to employment.
We have a rotating crew of two to three landscapers at New Epping per shift, drawn from a core team of ten Good Spaces crew members. Significantly, one third of this team are participants in our pioneering Youth Employment Program.
One of the Good Spaces crew members on the program working at New Epping said:
“I like the routine. Coming to work every day. And just learning new things and learning skills that I need from employment. But also the end goal is a house: I’m sort of saving up for a car. Friendships and teamwork as well, peer connections are always good!” – C (he/him).
Can you tell us more about the Good Cycles Youth Employment Program?
Young people are twice as likely to face unemployment than older people, and a recent study shows that a staggering 80% of young people struggle to find or keep jobs. Our Youth Employment Program (YEP) uses a work-first approach, offering meaningful employment and on the job support to young people aged 18-28, that enables people to ‘learn by doing’. It’s a key part of our mission to create inclusive employment opportunities that deliver technical and transferable skills which increase job readiness and reduce barriers to employment.
The program employs young people and provides them with a real living wage and a supportive and inclusive workplace environment. They receive ongoing regular coaching support from our team of Youth Coaches to help identify personal and career goals and work towards gaining the tools and experience to achieve them.
Do you see a wider community impact from this program?
By empowering young people to find an employment path that is right for them, the positive effect radiates out to benefit not just the individual and their future, but their whole community too.
For some individuals, they can be the first in their family to secure stable employment which stimulates multi-generational change by breaking cycles of systemic joblessness for these youth and their families. The positive impact they can have on the community is profound.
Why was Good Cycles keen to partner with Riverlee at New Epping?
Riverlee’s vision for New Epping to build an inclusive, sustainable and healthy community resonates completely with our values at Good Cycles around circularity and creating opportunities. We’re proud to play a role in helping take care of the vital green spaces across the site, while providing employment pathways for marginalised young people through our landscaping work.
What does the future of the partnership with Riverlee at New Epping look like?
We’re really excited to continue working at New Epping and deepen our impact as the community evolves. The crew covers a huge area and it provides great opportunities for upskilling the team with core landscaping skills and building their confidence for future employment opportunities.
As part of our commitment to community care, we’re incorporating graffiti removal into our services. As the community at New Epping grows with new buildings and infrastructure, we’re investing in equipment and training for our mobile employment crews to keep New Epping looking its best.”
Head over to the Good Cycles website to find out more about the organisation and its impact.
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