YEmpower - Mentoring for the Next Generation

Our Story

After experiencing the worst that a poorly ideated and mentored career could offer, Our Founder, Vanessa decided to turn her experiences into something positive, constructive and life changing.

YEmpower was founded in January of 2020 by Ness Song after she became unemployed and found herself realising that up until that point goal ideation, mentoring support, and career development had not been part of building her career.

Career knowledge, goal ideation and planning is often placed on Young People as presumed knowledge, when in reality, most of us are unaware that it is a necessary aspect of building our careers. This period of unemployment illuminated a lot of the challenges and deficiencies young people suffer in silence with every day.

Mentorship, guidance and support are not freely given tools in the workplace and they should be. This is not even to mention educational institutions like High Schools and Universities that are charged with preparing us for the real world who often withhold critical information from Young Australians.

According to Burn Bright, 30% of Young Students felt like they didn’t have an adult to look up to or admire and a further 85% of students felt nervous about their futures, At YEmpower we believe we need to do more to change these statistics and help Young Australians plan for their futures.

Our team consists of leading female entrepreneurs and has expanded to include Kate Melville, Tallulah Watson Moyle and Nevena Apostaloska, Young Australian Women who are determined to make these long overdue changes and a positive impact on those around them.

We believe more has to be done and we believe we are the ones to do it. YEmpower has worked hard to create and implement a series of programs, policies, and frameworks to ensure that our organisation and its members will do its best to reflect the kind of society we want to see in the future. A society in which Young Australians are given the tools they need to succeed, thrive and grow.


Our Founder - Ness Song

About Ness: Ness is a social entrepreneur and community builder. Her passion is connecting Young Australians with the opportunities they need to grow and thrive. Ness thrives on person to person connection and communication and prides herself on being a highly empathetic person.

Ness has spent the last five years of her professional career working with Young Australians, in high-level organising roles in the NFP Sector, NSW and Australian Parliament and the Union Movement.

After spending most of her professional career looking for mentorship and guidance to no avail  she began to think more deeply about the root causes of her experiences. This led her to found YEmpower in early 2020.


"Ness is a bubbly, passionate individual who won’t let anything or anyone cut her down. Overcoming some very unique struggles in her early professional life, Ness learnt very quickly that you need to back yourself, and strong women who back each other do succeed." - Stephanie Matthews, APH

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone as passionate about helping young Australians as Ness. She has a drive and a passion that I've seen unmatched in my time representing students" - Sheldon Gait - National Union of Students


Our Mission

At YEmpower, we believe Young Australians are being left in the lurch, 1 in 3 young Australians are unemployed or underemployed and the youth unemployment rate has soared to 16.1%. Whilst many will rush to blame COVID-19, Youth unemployment before the pandemic was more than double the national unemployment rate. Action needed to be taken then and it needs to be taken NOW.

We are a member and community based Social Enterprise with ethical practices, social responsibility, and positive change makers at our core. At Empower we want to implement a series of programs, applications and mentoring opportunities that will provide Young Australians with the tools to succeed, thrive and grow.

We have come together to create a community in which Young Australians can cultivate their ideas, share resources and skills and connect with a network of mentors who commit to pulling each other up the ladder.


What we want

Community Building & Mentor-ship
We have never been more connected through the Internet and Social media, however most young people have never felt more alone. 1 in 3 Young Australians between the ages of 18 – 25 reported problematic levels of loneliness, in a report commissioned by Victorian Health.

At YEmpower we believe it is up to us to build a national community that is focused on building mentor-ship opportunities and connecting Young People across Australia. We are stronger when we lift each other up. You can sign up to YEmpower as a mentor, mentee or member and our free online members group is an unlimited source of support. You can join here.

Knowledge, Skill and Resource Sharing
Information and educational opportunities need to be more accessible and freely shared within our communities. We at YEmpower believe that knowledge and resource sharing is the key to giving Young Australians the confidence and the tools to achieve their goals, aspirations, and potential.

Professional Development
Most Secondary Career Development Education models are often under-resourced and ill informed as to what Young Australians want to learn in order to aid them in their Post School endeavours.

At YEmpower we create easy and interactive programs, workshops and applications, developed in collaboration with Young Australians, for Young Australians. At YEmpower, we believe knowledge is power and the means to restore the confidence of Young Australians in the face of all challenges they may experience.

Advocacy and Empathy Education
Many Young Australians enter the workforce without the tools to fight for their rights in the workplace. Young people are over-represented in insecure and casual work and there is no real education for Young Australians on their rights at work.

At YEmpower we plan to teach Young Australians about empathy and advocacy, key knowledge that the YEmpower facilitators, mentors and members wish they were taught before entering the workforce. You can join YEmpower here.