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Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: an Investigation Into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in Our Region

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Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: an Investigation Into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in Our Region University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities 6-2008 Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in our Region Simon Promfret IRIS Brad Braithwaite IRIS Scott Burrows IRIS, [email protected] Natalie Viselli IRIS Alex Kerr IRIS Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Law Commons Recommended Citation Promfret, Simon; Braithwaite, Brad; Burrows, Scott; Viselli, Natalie; and Kerr, Alex, "Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in our Region" (2008). Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers. 954. https://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/954 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in our Region Abstract Unemployment, and in particular youth unemployment, is one of the most significant economic and social issues facing the Illawarra region. Whilst the officialouth y unemployment statistics can be debated from one month to the next, what is clear is that for at least the past two decades our region‟s young people have experienced a consistently higher rate of unemployment than most of their peers living elsewhere in Australia. The study upon which this report is based has sought to explore the reasons why the Illawarra region has a consistently higher youth unemployment rate than other places throughout the nation. It seeks to outline those factors impacting young jobseekers in all regions, as well as uncovering those factors either more prominent within, or perhaps unique to the Illawarra region. Disciplines Arts and Humanities | Law Publication Details Pomfret, S., Braithwaite, B., Burrows, S., Viselli, N. & Kerr, A. 2008, Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra: An Investigation into the Problems Facing Young Jobseekers in our Region, IRIS Research, Wollongong. This report is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/954 Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra An investigation into the problems facing young jobseekers in our region FINAL REPORT Prepared for The Unemployment Forum Research Steering Committee By IRIS RESEARCH June 2008 Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra An investigation into the problems facing young jobseekers in our region This study has been generously supported by funding from and has been championed by the collaborative efforts of In collaboration with regional stakeholders, this report has been prepared by: Illawarra Regional Information Service Ltd. University of Wollongong Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522 Telephone: (02) 4229 4777 Fax: (02)4227 2987 email: [email protected] web: http://www.iris.org.au Acknowledgements IRIS would like to thank the members of the Research Steering Committee and project advisors for their valuable input to the project. Research Steering Committee Simon Ville, University of Wollongong – Chair Mike Archer, BlueScope Steel Paul Buhagiar, Mission Australia Alex Darling AM, Wollongong City Council Robert Doyle, Wollongong City Council Greg Ellis, Illawarra Mercury Canio Fierravanti, University of Wollongong Mark Grimson, Illawarra Business Chamber Michael Gross, Centacare David Hamilton, Shellharbour Council Sandra McCarthy, Kiama Council Simon Pomfret, Illawarra Regional Information Service John Rekounotitis, Australian Technical College – Illawarra Arthur Rorris, South Coast Labour Council John Boss, Illawarra Institute, TAFE NSW Project Advisors Sharon Bird MP, Member for Cunningham Matt Brown MP, Member for Kiama David Campbell MP, Member for Keira Jennie George MP, Member for Throsby Noreen Hay MP, Member for Wollongong Paul McCleay MP, Member for Heathcote Lylea McMahon MP, Member for Shellharbour As with any investigative study of this magnitude, a wide range of stakeholders have given generously of their time and resources in support. In particular, the following individuals and their organisations have provided significant and valuable assistance: John Ashauer, Australian Bureau of Statistics Matt Ball, Wollongong Youth Centre Allison Bradford, Wollongong City Council Martin Burgess, Illawarra Institute, TAFE NSW Sharon Cousins, Ready Resumes Les Dion, Dion‟s Buses Andrew Dodd, NSW Department of Education Cathi Duff, Wesley United Employment Eva Fraticelli, Centacare Garry French, Southern Youth & Family Services Anne Hampshire, Mission Australia Karin Jauncey, Mission Australia Jodie Johnson, Wesley United Employment Nick Higgins, Shellharbour City Council Lauren Huggett, Campbell Page Wollongong Megan Hutchinson, Kiama Council Elizabeth Lual, Sudanese Refugee Community Leader Ben Marsh, Illawarra Mercury Celia May, NSW Department of Education Meagan McKell, Wollongong City Council Sharon McLeod, Greenacres Employment Services Kate Murphy, Wollongong Youth Centre John Murray, NSW Department of Education Martin O‟Brien, University of Wollongong Jane Robinson, Shellharbour City Council Shaun Sheridan, Wollongong City Council Project Authors Simon Pomfret, Illawarra Regional Information Service Brad Braithwaite, Illawarra Regional Information Service Scott Burrows, Illawarra Regional Information Service Natalie Viselli, Illawarra Regional Information Service Alex Kerr, Illawarra Regional Information Service Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. III SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. VII INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................ 1 STUDY OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................................... 2 KEY CONCEPTS ............................................................................................................................................... 3 REPORT STRUCTURE .......................................................................................................................................... 7 1 SETTING THE CONTEXT .......................................................................................... 8 1.1 YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM ................................................................................ 8 1.2 THE ILLAWARRA SUFFERS HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT THAN MOST REGIONS ................................................. 10 1.3 YOUNG PEOPLE ARE STAYING IN EDUCATION LONGER ........................................................................... 12 UNDERSTANDING THE REGION‟S YOUTH LABOUR MARKET .................................... 14 1.4 SIZE AND STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................... 14 1.5 SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS ....................................................................................................... 17 1.6 SEGMENTING THE YOUTH LABOUR MARKET BY LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION ................................................... 22 1.7 PROFILING THE YOUNG UNEMPLOYED IN OUR REGION ........................................................................... 24 1.8 SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 39 2 EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES FACING OUR YOUNG JOBSEEKERS ................. 40 2.1 MAJOR CAUSES OF HIGH YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN OUR REGION ......................................................... 41 2.2 EXAMINING THE MANY BARRIERS OUR YOUNG JOBSEEKERS FACE ............................................................ 47 3 RESPONSES TO YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT TO DATE ............................................ 70 3.1 GOVERNMENT POLICIES & PROGRAMS ............................................................................................... 70 3.2 NON-GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ....................................................................................................... 79 3.3 FUTURE SOLUTIONS – STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES ................................................................................. 83 4 KEY DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE ...................................................................... 92 APPENDIX ONE: FIELDWORK METHODOLOGY ...................................................... 98 Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra – FINAL REPORT i PHASE 1: BACKGROUND RESEARCH & ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 98 PHASE 2: EXPLORING THE ISSUES – FROM ALL PERSPECTIVES .............................................................................. 99 APPENDIX TWO: ORIGINAL MEETING MINUTES ..................................................... 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 104 Youth Unemployment in the Illawarra – FINAL REPORT ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Comparative unemployment rates for selected countries, 2006 ...................................................... 9 Table 2 Regional
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