Mission Australia today called for greater coordination between governments, business and the community to address the causes of Tasmania’s youth unemployment problem.

The call came at a public briefing today to discuss a blueprint developed by Mission Australia which contains initiatives and policies to address this important issue.

Mission Australia Tasmanian Operations Manager, Noel Mundy, said a recent Mission Australia survey showing Tasmanian youth rated getting a job as a higher priority than young people on the mainland (31.5% compared to 20.3%) reflected the concern they felt about the current job market.

“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 higher (6.7% for 20-24 year olds) than unemployment among those aged 25 and above (3.6%),” Mr Mundy said.

“In November 2006, Tasmania had the second highest youth unemployment rate in Australia 25.4% of persons aged 15-19 years looking for full-time work, well above the national rate of 17.4%,” Mr Mundy said.

“While recent figures show that the general unemployment rate in Tasmania fell to an all-time-low (5.9%), youth unemployment rates remained unacceptably high because of changes in full and part time work, the disappearance of unskilled job opportunities; changes in education retention rates; a breakdown in the traditional pathways for young people transitioning to adult life; and the general failure of all sectors of society to meet the increasingly complex needs of young people.

“These changes have helped create a reservoir of thousands of marginalised young people who we’ve allowed to disengage, not only from education and training, but also their community, family and friends, with only a patchwork attempt at bringing them back.

“While there are a range of programs from both federal and state/territory governments, the approach is quite fragmented, particularly for those who are most marginalised.”

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) was published in November last year and is a community-based partnership between Mission Australia and its Youth Strategy and Advocacy Group and is based on several years of national and international research and analysis.

“One of the key findings of the Strategy is that if young people are unable to make an initial transition to the labour market smoothly, it’s likely they will continue to have problems and be marginally attached to employment for the rest of their lives,” he said.

“Research into best practice both here and overseas, has uncovered the most effective models and programs to help young people reconnect with the community.

“I’m optimistic – we know these issues can be solved, we know what works. The problem is what’s currently being done is too isolated and thousands of young people are missing out as a result.

“We’ve identified the nine key factors which impact on transition and our goal should be to support all young people to develop them.

“If we’re serious about breaking the back of youth unemployment, we need to start thinking differently about the problem and looking deeper into its causes.

“We believe the recommendations contained in YES are a good place to start,” Mr Mundy said.

The recommendations of the Youth Employment Strategy include:

• Establish a National Participation Agenda for Young People – similar to the National Agendas for Children and for Ageing previously developed by the Commonwealth Government. The agenda would build a framework for greater integration and coordination across all levels of government and portfolios (eg: health, education, employment) which impact on young people, as well as involve the business and community sectors.

• COAG’s Human Capital Reform Agenda to give significant attention to the needs of young people, including those who are most marginalised.
• Expand the Commonwealth Government’s Indigenous Youth Employment Consultants and Indigenous Youth Mobility programs to more regions around Australia.

• Target extra resources and tailor programs for the high percentage of unemployed young people concentrated in a small number of local government areas.

• Extend the Commonwealth Government’s Communities for Children program model to include a focus on young people, aged 6-16.

• Expand funding for effective programs that work with very marginalised young people.

• Develop and implement a Rural Women’s Apprenticeship Program that provides training and local career development opportunities for young women living in rural/regional areas.

• Create greater flexibility and communication between schools and community organisations to more effectively address problems with young people’s participation.

• Enhance the capacity of services to treat young people with ‘dual diagnosis’ – mental health problems and drug/alcohol issues.

• Introduce an integrated single income support payment which provides adequate assistance for young people, incentives for greater participation and needs-based ‘add on’ payments according to individual circumstances (eg: disability).

• Monitor the UK Government’s Opportunity Card and Education Maintenance Allowance initiatives with a view to piloting both in Australia.

For more information: Lucinda Bray, Beyond PR, 0438 280 486