Extract from ABC News
Posted 15 Mar 2016, 8:48am
Photo:
A map showing regions of high youth unemployment in Australia.
(Supplied: Brotherhood of St Laurence)
Young people are struggling to find work across
Australia, but none more so than those living in outback Queensland,
new analysis of jobless data shows.
Key points:
- Youth unemployment rate reached 28pc in outback Queensland this year
- Shift towards "knowledge industries" is seeing a reduction in the number of entry-level jobs for young people
- School leavers feel frustrated they can not get a foot in the door
The Brotherhood of St Laurence has mapped jobless
hotspots around Australia.
It found the youth unemployment rate in outback
Queensland reached 28 per cent at the beginning of the year — the
worst in the country.
The rate was nearly 23 per cent in the New South
Wales' Hunter Valley, excluding Newcastle, and just over 20 per cent
in Wide Bay and Cairns on the Queensland coast.
Cairns teenager Ricco Cortez finished school at
the end of last year and said he on average applied for two retail
jobs a day.
"Most jobs require a few years of
experience," he said.
"You've just finished school and you're just
looking to get your foot in the door."
Mr Cortez said he scanned internet job sites and
personally visited stores to ask about work, but without luck.
He said he found applying for many jobs and not
getting a response frustrating.
Shift towards 'knowledge industries' hurting job chances
The Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director
Tony Nicholson said he was concerned about the overall youth
unemployment picture in Australia.
"Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high,"
he said.
"It's marginally down from the peak of two
years ago when it was at 14 per cent, but nationally we now see youth
unemployment still at a little over 12 per cent."
He noted that nationally there were fewer
entry-level jobs for young people, as the economy shifted to focus
more on services such as education and "knowledge industries"
including information technology and health care.
For young Australians in regional areas, a cooling
of the mining industry has hurt job prospects.
"It's much harder for younger people to get
into work in those areas," Mr Nicholson said.
Work placement allows employers to 'try before they buy'
In far north Queensland, where high youth
unemployment persists, a company called Vocational Partnership Group
has arranged unpaid work experience for students and school-leavers
for the past 17 years.
Chief executive officer Maryanne Tranter suggested
too much attention was being paid to school results and not enough to
gaining "real world" experience.
"It gives an opportunity for an employer to
try before they buy," she said of the work experience program. Ms Tranter said that students who did a work
placement were more employable. "They suddenly are a far more attractive
package than a fortnight ago where they have a resume with no
previous work history."
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