Entry level jobs that used to exist for school leavers – from the mailroom, to the factory, to the farm – are disappearing in our globalised modern economy. Employers now want more skills and experience from all of us. And young people are in the eye of the storm.
Meet Taylor (left) and Ashley (right). Taylor is 18 years old and lives on the city's outskirts. She has had one full-time job since finishing Year 12 in 2016. She thought her dreams had come true when she secured the job, but the business made cutbacks and let her go. She's got casual hours in a fast food store but is looking for more hours and stability. ‘Someone give me a job,’ she says. She means it.
Ashley who is 19, finished Year 12 in 2015. He enrolled in an advanced IT certificate course but could not keep up with the fees as well as pay his living expenses. Since then, he's only been able to get temporary or casual jobs. Last summer, he worked on the assembly line in a pickle factory. He lives with his dad but otherwise depends on a Centrelink payment of $222 a fortnight. ‘Every teenager wants to work. I don’t think I’ve talked to a single one that just wants to sit at home and sit on the dole,’ he says.
Taken from The Brotherhood of St Laurence.