White Box Enterprises (WBE), Civik and Youth Enterprises Australia (YEA) are thrilled to announce a strategic merger designed to boost employment opportunities for young people facing barriers to work.
The merger will enable the fast-tracking of plans to launch new Victorian operations by Civik, WBE’s infrastructure services social enterprise currently operating in Queensland. Proceeds from the wind-up of YEA’s labour solutions social enterprise over coming months will go towards the scaling of youth employment activities operating under the Civik banner.
YEA selected WBE and Civik as their preferred merger partners based on their impressive experience and track record in social enterprises and their focus on providing job training and meaningful work for marginalised young people.
Through this partnership, Civik will leverage YEA’s assets to establish operations in Melbourne, within the next six months.
This move will strengthen Civik’s ability to deliver infrastructure services in Melbourne, create more jobs for youth, and advance its mission of transforming the infrastructure services industry with a people-first approach.
Civik CEO Chris Fortnam expressed excitement about the expansion into Victoria and said the merger marked a major milestone for the social enterprise.
“We are delighted to welcome YEA into the Civik family. Together, we’ll be able to provide more opportunities for young people who have faced challenges accessing employment,” he said.
“With the support of White Box Enterprises and our partners like Ventia, we are entering a new chapter of growth and social impact.”
The merger marks a pivotal decision for YEA, which transitioned to a social enterprise labour hire model two years ago. It sees this merger as a good strategic fit that will enable continuation of its impressive 24-year legacy of supporting training and employment opportunities for young people in Melbourne.
YEA Chair, David Brookes, described the merger as an exciting opportunity to strengthen the YEA model and broaden its reach.
“By joining forces with WBE and Civik, YEA’s mission will live on. Our significant cash injection of over $1 million enables Civik to bring forward its Victorian expansion plans in a more commercially sustainable way to create greater long-term social impact.
“As part of our merger agreement, I am pleased that Angela Middleton will continue as a Director on the YEA Board and join the Civik Board to strengthen governance and assist with oversight of the merger implementation arrangements,” David said.
White Box Enterprises COO, Mark Daniels said there were a lot of synergies between the two social enterprises including a shared commitment to youth employment, proven partnerships with industry leaders like Ventia, and complementary roles in the NBN fibre upgrade.
“This merger is not just about expanding operations; it’s about aligning two like-minded organisations with a shared mission to address systemic barriers to youth employment. The strength of Civik and YEA combined will create pathways for many young people,” he said.
The transition will take place over the next three months, with YEA continuing its operations until the end of 2024.