Mission Australia, one of the country’s leading providers of employment and training programs has launched a new blueprint calling for greater co-ordination between governments, business and community, and a raft of new initiatives and policies to address the causes of Australia’s youth unemployment problem.

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) report says concerted action is needed to engage thousands of marginalised young people and reduce youth unemployment which is four times (14.3% for 15-19 year olds) and two times (6.7% for 20-24 year olds) higher than unemployment among those aged 25 and above (3.6%). The publication of the YES is a community-business partnership between Mission Australia and its Youth Strategy and Advocacy Group, Chaired by Rupert Myer, and is based on several years of national and international research and analysis.