VET News

Securing Better Quality Jobs for Australia’s Young People

Fragmented supply chains, use of more insecure forms of employment, and reduced investment in training have all made it much more difficult for young people to secure a foothold in the labour market and to develop skills in the workplace. While employers demand higher skill levels and experience from prospective employees, many appear to be doing less of the ‘heavy lifting’ regarding skills development themselves.

In August 2019 the national unemployment rate was 5.3%, while for young people it was 11.7%. For teenagers the unemployment rate was 17.1%. While Australia has historically outperformed other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries on rates of youth unemployment, Australia’s youth unemployment is now slightly above the OECD average.  Both unemployment and poor-quality work are associated with poor mental health.

Reported skills and labour shortages suggest that there are structural problems in the labour market, not just overall labour demand, that are having an effect on unemployment.

The future of work, and impacts of technological, environmental and social change are discussed, and ‘work of the heart’ is predicted to continue to increase in demand.

For 15 -24 year olds, the retail industry is expected to yield the largest growth to 2023, with 32% of that age group expected to be employed in retail.  This is also the area with the lowest expected median weekly earnings.  It is expected that the strongest growth will be in jobs at higher skill levels.

The report recommends effective vocational education and training (VET) will need greater involvement and support from employers through work placements and increased use of apprenticeships and traineeships.  It also suggests that future-oriented vocational qualifications should be built around technical and soft skills that can be applied across similar occupations, so that employees are not locked into narrow roles.

For more information, you can see the full report.

Date posted Jan 30, 2020