On Behalf of the Youth Employment Project Committee

Youth Employment Workshop

Report

On behalf of the Youth Employment Project Committee

Department of Communities, Sport & Recreation

Youth Employment Workshop Report

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement of Contribution

Background Context

Executive Summary

1.Background and Context

1.1The National and International Context

1.2The drivers of youth unemployment

1.2.1Supply (availability of jobs)

1.2.2Demand (wanting to work)

1.2.3Demand (wanting to work and active buy-in to work)?

1.3The Tasmanian Context

2.Scope

3.Consultation Process:

3.1Steering Committee

3.2Youth Employment Program Survey

3.3Youth Employment Workshop

3.3.1Initial presentations

3.3.2Key Questions to the groups

3.3.3Key Workshop Outcomes

Appendix 1. Responses from Group Discussions

Question 1: The essential components for a successful youth employment initiative

Question 2: Activities could commence this year.

Question 3: Ongoing commitment and engagement of organisations into the future.

References

Acknowledgement of Contribution

Workshop opened by Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, Prof. Kate Warner

Facilitator: Ms Kim Boyer

Speakers: Ms Tegan Pearce, Project Officer, YNOT; Ms Therese Taylor, CEO, Colony 47; Mr David Thompson, CEO, Jobs Australia Ltd.

Steering Committee: Youth Employment Workshop
Therese Taylor / Colony 47 / Meg Webb / TasCOSS
Joanna Siejka / YNOT / Rebecca Moles / DPAC
Gerry White / Colony 47
Participants
Participant / Organisation / Participant / Organisation
Jane Carlson / Anglicare / Joanna Orr / MEGT
Rohan Wade / Australian Hotels / Anne Hamilton / Migrant Resource Centre
Nick Probert / Beacon Foundation / Amanda Beattie
Kathryn Cranny / Mission Australia, TAS
John Stuart / Benevolent Society TAS
Tim Claridge / Centacare / David Clements / National Disability Services TAS
AnthonyEdler
Carolyn Bennett
Phillippa Skinner / Clarence City Council / Troy O'Konnah / National Joblink
John Hooper
Steve Cooke / Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania
Glen O’Keefe
Lisa Schimanski
Julia Fassina / Colony 47 / Sharni Gardner / Per TASCOSS
Chrissie Berryman / Skills TAS
Kris McCraken
Kat Fraser / Dept Health and Human Services / Lesley French
Anthony King / Dept of Communities Sport & Recreation / Dean Winter / TasICT
Ben Wilson
Nikki Mann / Dept of Education / Malcolm Elliott / Tasmanian Principals Association
Christy-Lee Hunt
Jan Wallace
Stephen Conway / TasTAFE
Amanda Pont
Penny Ireland / Dept of Employment
Anthony Speed / Dept of Social Services / Alison Standen / The Smith Family
Amity Deans / Dunalley Tasman Neighbourhood House / Mike Frost / TOOL
Krystal Clements / Freelance / Sarah Pidgeon / Transend Networks
Phil Pyke / Fruit Growers TAS / Alison Roberts
Anne Davie
Lindsey Moffatt
Louise Chesterman
Stuart Thorn
Sue Kilpatrick / UTAS
Chris Devenish
Michael Higgins / GeCo Geeveston Community Centre
Elisa Ryan / Glenorchy City Council
Jo Pitman / Huon Valley Council
Mark Joseph / Hobart City Council
Mark Boonstra / Impact Communities / Cathy Wish-Wilson / West Coast Council
Andrew Wilkie MP / Independent / Christine Redden / Whitelion
Roger Hawkins / Independent Schools Association / Lyndon Stevenson
David Thompson AM / Jobs Australia / Lisa Denny / Workplace Demographer
Mark Waterson / Karadi

Background Context

• More than a third of all young people are either unemployed or under-employed in Australia, and young people are the most susceptible workers in economic downturns.
• West and North West Tasmania, and Launceston and North East Tasmania arelocations that standout as being of national concern with youth unemployment rates over 20%.
• Workforcedevelopment systems that support apprenticeships, vocational programs and other worker-training programs bolster the transition between school and work; thus providing young people with structure pathways into work.
• Young people, particularly those that are from disadvantaged backgrounds, need much more than the skills and knowledge imparted at schools in order to successfully transition to employment. They need a sense of belonging.
• The characteristics of strong alternative education programs are that they link learning to community and incorporate three key elements meaning, connection and control. They give young people a sense of control about their present and a sense of possibility about their future that makes learning meaningful.
• Connections are the cornerstone of elite schools, they build connections for their students, where and how the young person belongs on a global stage.A strong alternative education and transition program engenders this same sense of purpose and belonging to youth that do not have the same advantages in life and natural supports to promote this in their world.
• Results from YNOT’s youth forum indicated that although gaining experience was identified by young people as an important part to helping them gain employment, many did not know where to find opportunities to increase their skills and wanted to create new ways for young people to find out and access these opportunities, especially through an online resource.

Executive Summary

• The majority of organisations involved in youth employment had active partnerships and collaborations with other organisations. Nearly 80% of the activity of these organisations was in engagement of youth or skill acquisition.
• The essential components for a successful youth employment initiative were considered to be: involve the views of youth, work with the influences on youth, understand the environment in which the initiative is operating, consolidate foundation skills, and incorporate job readiness and training. The program would also need to assist participants to have realistic expectations of the workplace and engage with employers.
• There were a number of programs that participants suggested could be implemented this year. These included expanding existing entrepreneurship programs, running mentoring programs, holding specific forums, developing programs to develop aspirations, building a web-portal, implementation of foundation skills programs, development or re-instatement of holistic approaches and employer or workplace based programs.
• There were five key components considered necessary to establish ongoing commitment and engagement by organisations in the future:a shared vision, a coordinator, an understanding of individual organisational capabilities, strong communication, and a state-wide youth strategy.

Prepared by Colony 47 on behalf of the Steering Commitee1

Youth Employment Workshop Report

1.Background and Context

Given the fierce competition for jobs due to low supply and the serious long-term consequences of long term unemployment to both the individual young person and society, it is no surprise that there has been increasing emphasis by government, community sector youth networks and business to address the issue of youth unemployment.

But it is important to understand the key drivers of youth unemployment and how this issue is being managed both nationally and internationally.

1.1The Nationaland International Context

In February 2014 the Brotherhood of St Laurence produced a publication titled ‘Australian Youth Unemployment: Snapshot’1,which highlighted the high level of youth unemployment across Australia.

It reported:

• Youth unemployment in Australia is almost three times the rate of unemployment for those aged 25 and over;
• More than one in three unemployed Australians are under 25 years old;
• Youth unemployment is as high as 20 per cent in some locations across Australia.

When under-employment is added to the equation the figures for youth are even more startling. There are 17.4% of youth that are underemployed (youth that are employed but were seeking more hours of work)2. This equates to one in three people 15-24 years old in the labour market that are either unemployed or underemployed. This is the highest rate since statistics were first available in 19782(see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Unemployed and underemployed youth in Australia 1978-20143

Young people are far more likely to be in casual and non-permanent positions; in Australia nearly 60% of employees aged 15-25 are on non-permanent contracts4. Although this can provide flexibility for other commitments such as study it does make young people more vulnerable to losing their jobs and often means they are less likely to be offered career development opportunities and training. This makes it more difficult for young people to transition into long-term sustainable employment4. This renders youth particularly vulnerable in economic downturns.

In times of economic recession, the labour market contracts and the number of unemployed people rises sharply. But for young people these periods are doubly troubling, not only are they the first targets of job cuts but also their transition from school to the job market becomes almost impossible.This is one of the most significant conclusions of the latest UN World Youth Report launched on 6 February 2012, which included a wide consultation process with youth all over the world5. This was powerfully demonstrated in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis when youth unemployment rose to over 27% in the US6and even higher in some European Economies; in Spain, Ireland and Greece, unemployment rates for youth almost doubled, reaching more than 40%5.

1.2The drivers of youth unemployment

There are considered to be 3 aspects to unemployment:-

• -Supply (Availability of jobs)
• -Demand (People wanting work)
• -Demand (People looking for work)

1.2.1Supply (availability of jobs)

There is currently a fundamental shortage of jobs. An analysis of the number of job vacancies compared to the number of people seeking employment indicates that 92 in every 100 people that are unemployed or underemployed will not get a job vacancy2.

Unemployment has huge consequences for young people, it affects their income, long-term employability, social participation, mental health and housing stability. It also affects their family supporting them and society in general. In addition to the immediate increased burden on public health, welfare (and occasionally justice systems), the intergenerational report indicated that the number of working-age people supporting each person over 65 years will fall from 4.5 today to 2.7 by 2055, increasing the burden on future generations to support an ageing population2.

Additionally, research on the impacts of youth unemployment in the US after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has shown that these young people receive lower wages for many years following the period of unemployment due to forgone work experience and lost opportunities to build skills6.

The broader economic consequences for society are serious as young people delay moving out of the parental home, struggle with ballooning student-loan debt, and are failing to save adequately for retirement. It is predicted that due to the prolonged unemployment of young people during the GFC that the US economy will feel the loss of aggregate demand in the form of slower growth and less job creation6.

There are a number of government initiatives that are designed to broadly stimulate the economy to improve growth and therefore employment, as well as specific measures to stimulate youth employment. This workshop discussed more targeted initiatives that may support and/or replace current supply-side programs.

1.2.2Demand (wanting to work)

There are a number of factors at play on the ‘demand-side’ of the employment equation, and this tends to be where the focus of most attention is for programs by community service organisations and non-government entities that cannot influence macro-economic factors.

There are some commentators and government initiatives such as the recent ‘Earn or Learn’ initiatives of the Abbott Government that promote a sense that they need to stimulate a youth’s willingness to work through punitive measures such as Work for the Dole, which have been demonstrated in the past to show no improvement in employment outcomes for participants7.

However, there appears to be very little evidence that unwillingness to work has any bearing on the high youth unemployment rate. In fact, recent research indicates that virtually all of Australia’s increased unemployment rate since 2008 can be explained by slower economic growth8.

Young people inherently want to work and make concerted efforts in training and preparation for the job market, however, it is true that after long periods of unemployment youth can become disheartened and discouraged to pursue active job-seeking.

Are structured pathways to work the key?

Through the GFC there were several economies internationally that were extremely negatively impacted, including high general unemployment and an exacerbation in youth unemployment. Some analysts have examined the difference in approach between economies that were able to keep youth unemployment low relative to overall unemployment and noted that these countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Netherlands) tend to have workforce-development systems that support apprenticeships, vocational programs and other worker-training programs that bolster the transition between school and work; thus providing young people with structure pathways into work9.

1.2.3Demand (wanting to work and active buy-in to work)?

Professor Johanna Wyn, Director of the Youth Research Centre, University of Melbourne recently delivered a keynote speech to the British Educational Research Association conference in the UK10. In this she argues compellingly that young people, particularly those that are from disadvantaged backgrounds (that make up a disproportionate number of the youth unemployment figure) need much more than the skills and knowledge imparted at schools in order to successfully transition to employment. They need a sense of belonging.

In the current environment she argues that disadvantaged youth are an anathema to mainstream testing regimes and are not welcome in mainstream systems that are measured against NAPLAN and MySchools results. If they are lucky they get into alternative education programs.

The characteristics of strong alternative education programs are that they link learning to community and incorporate three key elements meaning, connection and control.

They build relationships of trust and connection in schools and out, and they give young people a sense of control about their present and a sense of possibility about their future that makes learning meaningful.

The elements to achieve this are:

Partnerships between community (including young people), government and private sector;

Creation of relationships that are dynamic and have meaning for young people (belonging) and communities (authentic) and recognise the young person’s past, present and future;

Recognition that culture is important, not just academic progress;

Facilitation of connections through space and time;

Control by the young person, so that they have a sense of efficacy over their lives and what they learn;

Creativity and adaptability to respond to local and global needs10.

The assessment of these programs will measure how young people belong, what is the quality of the relationship to schools, the wider local and global community, and will examine what is the responsibility of schools, family and community to ensure young people can belong. The traditional metrics such as NAPLAN scores will not reflect this deeper sense of belonging that promotes a willingness and drive within individuals to pursue their future success10.

The relational approach is already the cornerstone for elite schools, that understand that they must build connections for their students, where and how the young person belongs on a global stage and the promise of the connection to the best globally. A strong alternative education and transition program engenders this same sense of purpose and belonging to youth that do not have the same advantages in life and natural supports to promote this in their world10.

This type of approach to education is one that embraces life-long learning and embraces connections to participate in civic life both socially and economically. So rather than focus on a narrow set of transition points or the abstract notion of work somewhere out there, a new approach is needed for young people that already inhabit a globally connected world10.

1.3The Tasmanian Context

The regions of West and North West Tasmania were locations identified by the Brotherhood of St Laurence with a youth unemployment level of over 20%1. In a subsequent report in March 2014, the Brotherhood pinpointed areas where there had been high growth in youth unemployment between 2012 and 201411.

This showed that the West and North West Tasmania, and Launceston and North East Tasmania were locations that stood out as being of national concern. The Greater Hobart region had not experienced as large an increase in youth unemployment but had seen a rise of 35% between 2012 and 201411.

In August 2014 the Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) brought young people together from around Tasmania to gather their ideas about youth employment, this included an online survey. In December 2014 YNOT released a document summarising the results of the survey and ideas from the Forum4.

The conclusions from the YNOT forum and survey were that young people are thinking about these issues and ideas very broadly and from a young age. Young people involved with the Forum and Survey were able to identify what young people, businesses, community and government are doing well to support young people to gain employment. Despite this, many young people also identified ways that young people, businesses, community and government could improve to help young people transition to the work place4.

Although gaining experience was identified by young people as an important part to helping them gain employment, many did not know where to find opportunities to increase their skills and wanted to create new ways for young people to find out and access these opportunities, especially through an online resource4.

There are tools and resources available that are considered to be youth friendly, but they are either not reaching their target or not meeting their needs. Young people wanted online resources to connect them with people they could talk to and face to face opportunities to learn, gain experience and receive support. Although it can be much more challenging for some, young people are keen to be involved and do what they can but are not always sure how to do this4.

Colony 47 has long been concerned about low levels of youth employment and has relied on Government funding to improve outcomes for youth. Two programs in particular have focused on youth engagement: (i) the successful Partnership Brokers Program which brokered partnerships and relationships between schools, employers, young people and their families to offer sustainable career paths and employment opportunities, and (ii) Youth Connections, which worked with young people that had disengaged from mainstream school and offered them an alternative pathway for training, education and re-engagement.