The Tailored Assistance Employment Grants School Based Traineeships (TAEG-SBT) program is an educational and employment pathway designed to improve Year 12 completion rates and long term employment outcomes. The TAEG-SBT is a sub-program under Tailored Assistance Employment Grants (TAEG) – a flexible employment approach that aims to get more Indigenous people into work, as part of the Australian Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) program. 

Through the program participants gain hands-on work experience and off-the-job vocational training and have the opportunity to complete a nationally recognised qualification (usually Certificate II or III) while completing their secondary school studies. The evaluation of the program is theory based using a theory of change to describe how the key program outcomes are achieved addressing the following objectives:

• the appropriateness of program design and implementation
• the extent to which expected outcomes of the SBT program have been achieved (effectiveness)
• how efficiently the program funding has been used and the implications for policy and future impact. 

The evaluation had several limitations owing to incomplete and unreliable program data of trainee outcomes, the impact of Covid-19 on undertaking interviews and surveys and potential bias in results as the evaluation participants were voluntary. The evaluation made nine key findings and 11 recommendations. Overall, the evaluation found all stakeholders reported positive views of the TAEG-SBT program, while there was room for program improvement in several areas including greater community and trainee input into processes of program co-design and fostering a community of practice amongst providers.