🔢 Sources for the numbers
Every figure in this deck, with where it comes from. Teal = Strategic Plan / Brief · green = calculated · amber = Jo's CV / note.
Program targets & results
2026 targets & 2025 baselines
128 · 27 · 48 · 50 · 150 (from 117 · 20 · 44 · 30 · 100)School to Jobs 2026–2030 Strategic Plan — "Our Targets" table (p.12).
Djarragun College +38% students earning or learning within 3 months of graduationStrategic Plan — "Our History" (2022); also Candidate Presentation Brief — "The Scenario".
Youth employment outcomes 0% → 7% (2022)Strategic Plan — "Our History" (p.10).
Calculated figures
Growth rates +9% · +35% · +9% · +67% · +50%Calculated: (2026 target − 2025 baseline) ÷ 2025 baseline.
Run-rate ~2 partners/month · ~12–13 placements/quarterDerived from the 2026 targets (27 partners ÷ 12; 50 placements ÷ 4).
Jo's experience (from CV)
Credentials PhD & BA (Hons) Psychology (La Trobe) · Cert IV TAE · Blue Card · Current Driver's LicenceJo Lilley CV — "Education & Credentials". Blue Card & Driver's Licence are listed as essential criteria in the job ad.
30+ years across psychology → employment & trainingJo Lilley CV — career history from 1994 (Psychologist, EPPIC) onward.
Team 25+ · $8M budget · +41% contracted performance · 20,000 apprenticeship sign-ups/yrState Manager – Queensland, BUSY At Work (2024–present).
Team of 15 — Cairns to NSW border, incl. regional, remote & Torres StraitRegional Manager – North Queensland, BUSY At Work (2022–24).
Team of 12 — multi-sector placement pipelinesIndustry Placement & Pathways Manager, Bendigo Kangan Institute (TAFE).
Employer relationships (Slide 5–6)
Hutchinson Builders (Andrew Goller) · QBuild (Charlotte Penna) · Cairns Regional Council (Bree Knox) · KFC (Jushua Klatt) · Childs World (Nicole Hanlon) · Major Training (Kat Schneider)Jo's own established professional network across Cairns & FNQ.
Program design references
Priority sectors · Skills Academy · CYP Group enterprises (Bama Services)Strategic Plan — "Our Strategic Pillars"; Candidate Presentation Brief — "Employer Networks".
⚑ Data note — reconcile before presenting
Two baselines exist for 2025The S2J fact-sheet cites 23 employer partners, 44 young people into employment and a 44% employment rate. This deck uses the Strategic Plan's official "Our Targets" table (20 partners). Use the Strategic Plan figures and be ready to explain the difference if asked.
📖 Glossary
Plain-English definitions for terms used in the deck and script — handy for quick reference or if a panel member asks.
Delivery & management terms
Stretch targetA deliberately ambitious goal that needs above-normal effort to reach. Here: employer partners (+35%) and work experience (+67%) — far above the other targets' single-digit growth.
StretchShort for "stretch target" — describing the two most demanding goals that drive the plan.
Stand up (a dashboard / process)To set something up and get it operational from scratch. "Stand up a weekly dashboard" = build and launch it.
Run-rateThe pace of delivery projected over a period, so progress can be tracked continuously rather than only at year-end. 27 partners/year ≈ a 2-per-month run-rate.
Leading indicatorsEarly-signal metrics that predict future outcomes (e.g. readiness completions, placements in train) — they let you act before targets are missed.
Lagging indicatorsOutcome metrics measured after the fact (e.g. students employed). The headline targets are mostly lagging.
Quick winsEarly, low-risk results that rebuild momentum and credibility while longer-term work is planned.
PipelineThe connected flow of a young person from school engagement → readiness → work experience → employment → retention.
Escalation path / processThe pre-agreed steps for raising and resolving an issue up a chain of responsibility.
Rapid-response protocolPre-set steps to act fast (e.g. same-day employer contact) when a placement problem arises.
Value for money / cost per sustained outcomeShowing funders the results achieved relative to dollars spent — e.g. cost per lasting employment outcome, not just per placement.
KPIKey Performance Indicator — a measure used to judge whether the program is on track.
STARSituation, Task, Action, Result — a structure for answering interview questions with a concrete example.
Jo's strategy & sector terms
Anchor network / "Grow & Retain"Jo's approach of building employer numbers from established, trusted relationships rather than cold-calling — then retaining and deepening them.
Multiplier strategyIntegrating S2J with Jo's existing apprenticeship-support and TAFE networks so reach scales quickly.
Premium, risk-free pipelinePositioning S2J as the safest, highest-quality source of supported young workers for employers.
"Day in the Life" showcasesBringing employer/industry contacts into schools for small-group sessions that demystify trades and broaden student aspirations.
"Try a Trade"A short taster initiative letting students sample a trade before committing to a pathway (e.g. with Hutchinson Builders / QBuild).
AASNAustralian Apprenticeship Support Network — the providers (e.g. BUSY At Work, MEGT) that sign up and support apprentices and trainees.
ECECEarly Childhood Education and Care — the childcare/early-learning sector (e.g. Childs World), with known workforce shortages.
Cert IV TAECertificate IV in Training and Assessment — the standard qualification for delivering and assessing accredited training in Australia.
Blue CardQueensland's "Working with Children Check" — mandatory for working with young people, and an essential criterion in the job ad.
Program & Cape York terms
Theory of changeThe underlying logic of how the program's activities lead to its outcomes. S2J's is "Responsibility + Opportunity = Capability".
Responsibility + Opportunity = CapabilityCape York Partnership's core principle: lasting capability grows when young people are given real opportunities and are required to take responsibility for engaging with them.
Skills AcademyA flexible CYP program building job-ready capabilities (work ethic, conduct, communication) before a placement — the main tool for readiness and reducing employer risk.
Work experience / trialsShort, supported placements in a real workplace that test fit and build experience before ongoing employment.
Workplace support mentorA mentor who attends the workplace to support both the young person and the employer during a placement.
Wraparound supportCoordinated, holistic support around the individual — wellbeing, transport, mentoring, cultural safety — not just job placement.
Placement agreementA written agreement setting out expectations between the program, the student and the employer for a placement.
Djarragun CollegeThe independent Indigenous Prep–Year 12 college at Gordonvale (near Cairns), part of the CYP group and the anchor school for S2J.
CYP GroupThe family of Cape York Partnership entities and enterprises (e.g. Bama Services, Cape York Institute, Cape York Employment).
Bama ServicesCYP's Indigenous-owned social enterprise (construction, landscaping, cleaning) — a trusted in-house employer for first placements.
Pama / BamaThe Aboriginal people of Cape York Peninsula — language used across CYP's agenda.