Our Impact

9,109

students mentored by volunteers from our member and partners in 2023.

4,462

volunteer mentors with a total of 4,886 volunteer participants in all initiatives

22,559

volunteer hours donated by employees of ABCN members and partners in 2023.

91%

of scholarship students graduating from Accelerate in 2023 are employed or studying.

90%

of Goals and Aspirations students completed Year 12 in 2023.

59%

of Goals and Aspirations students received University offers in 2023.

Research consistently shows social background is a key predictor of educational and future success. In Australia, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged schools is unusually wide, existing across all domains and skills both at school and into adulthood.

Almost one third (27.5%) of youth from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds in Australia do not complete Year 12, according to 2021 figures from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Education is key for these students to access opportunities and tertiary pathways for long-term meaningful employment and a sustainable income for themselves and their families. Yet the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged schools in Australia is one of the largest in the OECD¹. Disadvantaged schools experience more teacher shortages, higher teacher-student ratios and greater inadequacy of educational resources than advantaged schools.

ABCN works with schools and business to level the playing field for these students.

Source: [1] Educational opportunity in Australia, Lamb (2020)

Lacy, scholar

'My mentor was a great role model to look up to.'

‘My childhood changed forever at 13, when my Mum and Dad got into drugs,’ Lacey says. ‘At that time, I made a decision: I didn’t want to follow the same path as them.’ At the end of Year 10, Lacey successfully applied for an ABCN scholarship. She has since completed school, enrolled in a pharmacy degree at the University of Queensland and is working full-time while she also considers other career options. ‘ABCN has exposed me to so many successful people who’ve had the confidence to try a mixture of different things and that’s made a strong impact on me to do the same,’ she says.

Impact on students 2023

31%

Average increase in career pathways understanding

46%

Average increase in enterprise skills

41%

Average increase in life skills

ABCN measures the longitudinal impact our programs have on students. We have surveyed 49 of our students who, when they were about 14, participated in our flagship GOALS program between 2005 and 2008. We found that their average income was $60,000 in 2018, compared to the national average of $37,600 for 24-year-olds (ABS, 2016).

How we measure impact

Impact on mentors 2023

95%

of mentors felt inspired to help others more often as a result of the program

91%

of mentors said their mentoring/coaching skills improved as a result of participating in a program

97%

felt proud that their company is part of ABCN

* Two ABCN member companies – PwC and Optus – tracked all their mentors who had participated in programs over a number of years. PwC found that participants had a 30% lower attrition rate than the company average, while Optus reported a 34% reduced rate.

Which companies we work with

abcn is making a difference

ABCN creates a future-fit workforce through our shared value proposition: meaningful interactions that improve student employability while increasing mentors’ workplace success.