Education and Career Support: Year-one review

Young people with a cancer diagnosis often experience significant interruptions to their education and their career, and may also experience issues with reintegration, peer relationships and long term educational attainment and employment.

Redkite has provided education assistance in the form of Education Grants and Scholarships since 1998, initially for costs associated with tutoring and education and career development activities. However, recognising
the significant ongoing impact of a cancer diagnosis, Redkite conducted a review of educational and vocational service provision in the Australian cancer sector in 2012. This review resulted in the development of Redkite’s Education and Career Support (ECS) Program.

The Education and Career Support Program

Redkite’s Education and Career Support (ECS) Program was a strengths-based, individualised support program, delivered by qualified professionals. The program provided support for young people (15-24):

• at any stage of their cancer diagnosis, during and/or beyond treatment,
• in hospital and/or the community, and
• at any stage of their education and career development.

The program was launched in January 2014 with four ECS Consultants providing support to
young people across Australia.

Young people contacted their Consultant by phone or by email. They met face to face,
one-on-one, or with other young people in a workshop setting. The frequency of contact and length of time in the program depended on the young person’s need, and ranged significantly from one-off or intermittent contact to regular face-to-face contact.