The commercial arm of Red Cross aims to deliver much-needed funds to our humanitarian work by empowering people with knowledge, confidence and skills to achieve meaningful, continuing employment and enable safe and engaged workplaces and communities.

Helping people to learn and earn

In 2013/2014 Red Cross Employment Services worked with 1,400 job seekers, achieving paid employment outcomes for 471 clients. 35% of these opportunities were sourced through new employer and community partnerships. These outcomes, combined with significant reductions in expenses, contributed surplus funds to the organisation.

Nationally, Red Cross Training Services delivered 381 work skills certificates and facilitated hands- on work placements which connected 94% of our work skills students with more than 300 newly-sourced business partners. 40 students also secured ongoing employment through this program, which goes beyond the services of most training providers by helping students to find employment.

Increasing online presence

Australian Red Cross was among the first to partner with the Red Cross Global Disaster Preparedness Centre to launch a free region- specific first aid app, which has exceeded 100,000 downloads. Improvements to online communications and accessibility led to a 25% increase in web traffic for our learning and first aid pages and an 18% increase in enrolments in first aid e-learning courses.

Driving disability services

Our commercial strategy prioritises growth in the disability employment services sector. Our existing Disability Management Services contracts were recently renewed by the Federal Government, and we are preparing to deliver services aligned with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.