Hero Foundation combats unemployment and underemployment, partnered with Aussie tech powerhouses and social purpose leaders

Employment Hero’s social impact initiative, Hero Foundation, kick-starts its mission to unlock one million job opportunities for people facing barriers to employment

4 July 2024 – Hero Foundation – the founder-funded social impact arm of Employment Hero has announced its first four job placements, kick starting its mission towards one million employment opportunities for people facing barriers to work by 2034. 

With more than 600,000 people being unemployed, and close to two million underemployed in Australia, Hero Foundation was created to break down systemic barriers and combat underutilisation in the workforce, particularly amongst underrepresented groups facing barriers to entering mainstream employment. This currently includes people with a disability, migrants, women with lived experience of domestic and family violence, frontline workers, those who have been forced to take career breaks for caring responsibilities and neurodivergent job-seekers. 

Leveraging Employment Hero’s world-class recruitment platform, including leading candidate matching technology and direct access to over 300,000 businesses, Hero Foundation connects social-purpose organisations and people facing barriers to work with employment opportunities,on its mission to bring together all aspects of the employment eco-system to change lives.

Alexandra Goodenough, General Manager of Hero Foundation, discusses how corporate Australia has made some headway in shifting recruitment practices to provide alternate pathway programs for underrepresented job seekers, but there remains a gap when it comes to small to medium businesses. 

“The reality is that SMEs – which the majority of Australian businesses are – often don’t have the time, resources or ability to consider alternate talent pools, which means both businesses and job-seekers alike are missing out on employment opportunities. We know that employment status is one of the key drivers of inequality and it is our mission to provide a pathway to employment for those who have been overlooked, underestimated or excluded from the workforce,” said Goodenough.

“It’s not about simply filling a role; we’re filling areas of the existing employment support system that are currently lacking funding and resources. Ultimately, we want to create a global platform where everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, has an equal opportunity to be prepared and job-ready to find meaningful work, thus creating a more inclusive, resilient and skilled workforce,” added Goodenough. 

In under six months, Hero Foundation has partnered with seven Australian social purpose employment partners, provided education and mentoring for businesses and over 100+ Hero Foundation candidates with philanthropic partners such as Canva Foundation, helped over 10 people secure interviews and, in the last month, successfully placed four candidates into employment.

Ed Milne, the General Manager of People and Culture at Air-Met Scientific most recently hired a Hero Foundation candidate and discusses the significant benefits of looking at different recruitment channels. 

“For people that have faced constant barriers to entry or heard ‘no’ more than any word in their life, there is an innate loyalty and commitment when you provide an opportunity that is supported and enriching. Ultimately it is getting harder to find people and If we are not searching all avenues, then we’re limiting our access to talent and cutting ourselves off to people that can provide unique skills. We need to look beyond labels and barriers, because is it a barrier or a superpower?” said Milne. 

Dominique Evele, CEO at Amber Aged Care, was the first business to hire a candidate through Hero Foundation, recognising the strengths that diversity and lived experience can bring. 

“Having been born with a congenial disability I am a passionate advocate for equal opportunities and it is something I have always incorporated into my recruitment practices. The benefit of Hero Foundation is that it also provides an avenue for SME organisations, like Amber Aged Care, to meaningfully contribute to social impact and community-building without having to add significant burden to their existing recruitment,” said Evele.

Melanie Greblo, Founder of Humans of Purpose and the first social purpose employment partner for Hero Foundation notes the power of the ecosystem Hero Foundation has begun to build and the good it can create. 

“We’re really proud to partner with Hero Foundation as our missions are so complementary when it comes to providing upskilling opportunities for women facing barriers to work, aiming to catalyse opportunities for thriving employment. There are so many organisations doing great work in the employment support sector, all individually out there looking for great employers for our talented members, but Hero Foundation is the missing piece of the puzzle and can add the fuel needed to accelerate our work,” said Greblo.

Despite its infancy, Hero Foundation’s initial traction highlights its huge potential. While operations are currently funded solely by Employment Hero CEO and founder, Ben Thompson, its leadership is actively considering future options for the organisation. Employment Hero is also a member of Atlassian’s pledge 1%, a commitment that drives ongoing investment into the Hero Foundation through significant dedication of volunteering hours by Employment Hero staff. 

Thompson notes: “At the heart of Employment Hero has always been a profound belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to access employment – our mission is to make employment easier and more valuable for everyone, and the Hero Foundation is simply an extension of this, with an innovative approach to addressing the challenges of finding work for people faces barriers to employment.

“Never before has there been a bigger opportunity for the Hero Foundation to create real change in employment in Australia. We’re grounded in the belief that one job can change a life and we’re on a mission to change a million of them,” concluded Thompson.

For more information about Hero Foundation, visit employmenthero.com/hero-foundation.

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¹ABS, Labour Force, Australia, April 2025