Real Placements. Real Pathways. Real Outcomes.
Explore our 2025 Yearbook, a collection of student stories showcasing where work placement can lead — from building confidence and skills to employment, apprenticeships, traineeships and further study..
Explore our 2025 Yearbook, a collection of student stories showcasing where work placement can lead — from building confidence and skills to employment, apprenticeships, traineeships and further study..
Creating connections
Founded in 2003, The Youth Partnership, formerly known as the Southern Sydney Business Education Network (SSBEN), is a not-for-profit organisation created to help young people successfully transition from school to work or further education.
At the heart of our service offering is the The Work Placement Coordination Program, funded by the NSW Department of Education, Catholic Schools NSW and Independent Schools NSW. Work placement is a planned opportunity in a quality host workplace that enables senior school students studying particular industry-based courses to practise and develop their industry competencies and their employability skills in a vibrant real work context.
Our tailored range of career preparation programs help students find meaningful employment, allow employers to increase their resources and provide support for teachers.
At The Youth Partnership, we provide opportunities for students to take the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom and apply them in the real world of work.
Our vision is to be the leading organisation fostering opportunities for young people. We focus on creating connections between young people and the workforce. We aim to equip students with the best possible tools to help them stand out from the crowd.
Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s workforce; therefore, they must possess a strong foundation of job-ready skills and practical experience to build on.
Behind the coordination of our 6,000+ work placements every year lies an energetic team of talented individuals that combine to form The Youth Partnership.
While we regularly recognise individual success, our ability to combine our skills and work together as a team is our greatest strength. We are incredibly proud of our team, and know you’ll love working with us too!
In 2003, our services were limited to providing Structured Workplace Learning Services to schools in the Sutherland Shire only.
We introduced additional programs, including ‘Career & Transition Support’ and the ‘Adopt a School Program.’
By 2012, our services had greatly expanded and it was time to relocate from the Miranda Regional Offices. The SSBEN found a new home in the modern offices at Sutherland Public School, which provided room to expand our facilities.
We united with the St George Workplace Learning Partnership and formed the SSBEN.
One year later, we joined with the Sydney Business Education Partnership, expanding our work placement services beyond the Shire, to high schools across Sydney.
We were chosen as the successful tenderer for the NSW Government mentoring initiative “Youth Frontiers”.
2015 also saw our horizons broaden, as we introduced Career Transition Services, including mock interviews and RAW Industry tours.
After a strategy and planning session with the SSBEN team, we thought it was time to re-brand and align our name with our purpose and show support to our key stakeholders "Youth".
In March 2021, the SSBEN became 'The Youth Partnership'.
Our team expanded to 14 dedicated staff, supporting more than 7,000 work placements annually and helping even more young people explore career pathways. We also introduced Trainee Connect, connecting school leavers with apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities to support their transition from school to work.