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.

Mission Australia 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 Youth Employment Strategy (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.

Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said Australia’s youth unemployment levels – while declining in recent years – remained unacceptably high because of changes in full and part time work; the disappearance of unskilled job opportunities; changes in educational 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,” said Ms Hampshire.

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

“Young people furthest away from the labour market and economic and social participation are the least catered for in terms of the government programs they need for help. For example, young people exiting care, caught up in the juvenile justice system, or those who are homeless.

“These young people have become a wasted resource, not only in human terms, but also economic – the cost as they pass through our justice, health and income support systems is immense.”

The Chair of the Youth Strategy and Advocacy Group, Rupert Myer, said the Youth Employment Strategy was one of the most comprehensive reports compiled on the problem.

“Speaking on behalf of the Youth Strategy and Advocacy Group, I’m proud to be associated with such a significant document, which has included extensive consultation with business, young people and those who work with them. It is a blueprint, not just for Australia’s marginalised young people, but also the needs of young people as a whole.

“One of the key findings 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 only marginally attached to employment for the rest of their lives.”

Ms Hampshire said that research into best practice, both here and overseas, had uncovered the most effective models and programs to help young people re-connect with the community. However, in Australia, programs that work with the most marginalised young people are funded by community and philanthropic organisations and needed to be implemented more broadly within a national integrated strategic framework.

“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,” Ms Hampshire 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.

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 Youth Employment Stategy (YES) (1.68 MB)

Media contact: Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495