Veterans Employment Program

730 The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (25 August 2021). With regard to the Veteran Pilot Mentoring Program:

(a) Why is the program only offered to a total of 24 veterans when there are approximately 7,950 service pensioners in SA as of March 2021?

(b) Why is the program not provided within South Australian prisons, to assist veterans who are serving custodial sentences?

(c) If this pilot program is a success, will the state government consider introducing it into prisons?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier): I have been advised:

The Veteran Pilot Mentoring Program received applications from 24 veterans to participate, and this was the number then matched to mentors. There was no cap on participation numbers—the final pairings were based on the number of mentee applications received.

The mentoring program offered two streams, one for female veterans and one for veterans who were other ranks or non-commissioned officers and transitioned from the Australian Defence Force between three and eight years ago. These two particular cohorts of veterans were identified based on research and transition data relevant to South Australia. The premise of the pilot mentoring program is to empower veterans to further develop their professional capabilities to become our community leaders of the future. It attracted a number of veterans who still have great value to contribute through their employment and careers.

As this is a pilot program, the scope was defined to enable meaningful evaluation to occur at the program’s conclusion and assess the value and impact of the program. The program will conclude in January 2022 and then be evaluated. I anticipate there will be recommendations provided to government based on the program’s assessment, including areas of focus should further mentoring programs be offered.