Give us your feedback on the IRIS report here
Votes: 6
by Crispin 12:20pm, 11 June 2008
You will need to login
or sign up to do that
Cate
Jun 16, 2008 01:12pm
5
1 
Hey Crispin!
"The 15-19 age group makes up just 6.5% of the workforce across all industries while the 20-24 age group comprises 10.9% of the total workforce." page 18
K s0o0o liiKe wE bLeV3 DaT ThIs iS a BAD~!!#$ RepRESentaiOn Ov yutH In dA iLlaWaRrA!1
Cate
Jun 16, 2008 01:20pm
1
0
Lylea McMahon MP
Jun 17, 2008 08:45pm
2
0
Hi Cate,
I am interested to know why you think this is a bad representation of youth in the Illawarra.
Cheers
Lylea
Lylea McMahon MP
Jun 19, 2008 06:31pm
2
0
Cate,
Aditionally, Crispin and I were chatting yesterday about your effective use of txt language and thought it was very creative. So please continue to chat with us. Also you can can make video vox pops and add them to the site. Check the front page of the Shellharbour Youth Site. On the right hand side there is a video box.
Cheers
Lylea
Ancient kid
Jun 16, 2008 01:14pm
4
1
Your article was extremely useful in understanding the youth unemployment rate in our area. Some youth naturally enjoy working and have either a secure or strong job that they are doing such as myself. Most young people are interested in finding themselves a job because the prospect of having money is great and being able to take control of their own lives through purchasing things for themselves gives them a feeling of acievement. Most of my friends have a job and enjoy going to work because most agree that being at home is boring and working allows them to get out of the house and earn a living. Also earning money allows us to do more such as go to the movies and hang out with our friends in areas such as malls. Working has also taught me skills that i value and can use in my later life. Most of the people around my age that have jobs that i know have a job in the retail industry. "There were approximately 5,083 unemployed youth in the Illawarra on average over the year to June 2007."(Pg 16) This quote from your article interests me and i think that the unemployment rate might go down if the government can show youths how easily a job can be obtained throught the right methods of searching in the right areas rather than just saying 'you can obtain these skills or you can earn this amount through work'. In my junior years i understood the benifits of obtaining a job though i wasn't sure how to go about looking for part time employment. Further more i repeat that i enjoy work and also getting other young employed people to talk to the young unemployed about how much work is enjoyable may work in understanding how friends can be found.
Thank you.
Cate
Jun 16, 2008 01:15pm
2
0
Lylea McMahon MP
Jun 17, 2008 08:42pm
2
0
Hi Ancient Kid.
Thanks for your comments. One of the things I would be interested in knowing is how hard or easy it was for you to get a job? How did you find your job? Was it through friends and family? Or did you apply. Tell us a little bit about your experience.
Cheers
Lylea
Ancient kid
Jun 18, 2008 08:48pm
2
0
Thanks for replying to my comment
I obtained my job through family and since i have been working i have been trying to improve my skills since. While i was doing work experience at various places i have been offered that chance of employment a few times though i turned them down because i am enjoying where i work at the moment. It was easy to obtain my job though while with the business i was amazed at how easily one can improve through searching for more to learn. I am glad that i have continued to work through with my part time job and plan on attending university next year to widen my knowledge. Like i said in my first comment i am happy working and i get bored easy at home so i am constantly looking for more work.
Hope this helped
Thanks
richard11
Jun 18, 2008 08:13pm
2
0
I also agree that the article is extremely useful in broadening our understanding of the youth unemployment rate. And for some people this is something that we wouldn't normally think about. I my self don't have a job, but help out alot with my parent's buisness, in working with accounting stuff. I have been looking for a job that I would enjoy. Because if it was something that I didn't like I wouldn't be motivated to go. I agree with Ancient kid as most of us do see the money side to having a job, but for some people managing a job and school is just a bit too much. There is also the case of sheer laziness, which affects alot of teenagers =)
That's all I have to say.
Thanks ...
Lylea McMahon MP
Jun 19, 2008 06:51pm
1
0
Hi richard11
I appreciate that managing a job and school can be challenging for many young people. I also understand that it can be very rewarding, both financially and in terms of the practical experience. What strategies have you put in place to help you manage your work/study/life balance?
Do you think the same strategies will help others? Or is it a case of if you love something and are motivated you make it work?
Cheers
Lylea
richard11
Jun 20, 2008 06:28pm
1
0
Thank You for your comment ...
Well to balance all of these things at once, I plan my week in depth. Having so many hours for each. I also do homework, assignments and study either as soon as I get them or a week later, because these things can build up. As for the work I have a job selling Avon products and helping with my parent's buisness, it is very easy to include these into my busy week as they aren't really damanding and they don't have set hours. Most of my friends have set days and hours each day of each week to when they have to work.
I think that management is different for different kind of people, you can't just say ... this is how you manage it now go ahead and do it ... because everyone is different. We all have different ways of coping with things. My advice would be to pace yourself, if money isn't really that necesary and you just want it, then you don't really need to spend more time working then study. As this will build up stress and it will become too hard. If you are in your HSC years you should back down a bit on the work side of things, as it will everything will build up! And make sure you always take time out for yourself to. Don't just make it study or work. My extra little bit of advice for people would to eat a proper breakfast before going to school, and also to get enough sleep as these factors are common problems for many of todays youth. (including me!)
And the case of if you love something you are motivated to make it work is not the same for everyone, but for me, if I really would love to do it then I would be very motivated to make it work. I want to be a teacher so I have been working as hard as I can to hopfully achieve the UAI I need to get into the course.
(PS sorry it's soo long)
Thanks ...
richard11
Jun 20, 2008 07:03pm
1
0
P.S My father has a question for you and I was wondering if you could answer it for me?
The question is ...
When/is there going to be an on and off ramp in Dapto? As the traffic volume has increased due to the new Dapto Mall complex and it takes my family an extra 10 minutes to get out of our drive way to get to school of a morning.
jenkins-533
Jun 16, 2008 01:16pm
3
3
After reading your article, I understand more about the unemployment rate in the Illawarra and the world. This is a very important issue and I commend you for making it public.
Thank you =)
Michelle Lee
Jun 16, 2008 01:18pm
4
0
HI CRISPIN :D
" Today, there are fewer young people leaving school at Year 10...The result is that there is a smaller, possibly lower quality, pool of youth in the job market looking for stable long term employment.This may explain, to some extent, a higher rate of youth unemployment."
beacause these kids are staying on, it means that they dont have time to look for or gain employment as they are overloaded with school work, which is stressful enough without having to have the added pressure of a job.
peace out...
Cate
Jun 16, 2008 01:19pm
1
0
Lylea McMahon MP
Jun 19, 2008 06:42pm
1
0
Michelle Lee
One of the points that the IRIS paper makes is how important education is to employability. This is one of the reasons the NSW Government is reviewing the school leaving age. We recognise how important education is to ensure a succesful and fulfilling life. Some of the options being considered are: increase the school leaving age to either 16, 17 or 18. A second option is increasing the school leaving age with compulsory participation to 17 or 18.
Given one of the issues you raised is the pressure of school work, I would be interested to hear your views on what the school leaving age should be and why? For more information on the issue of school leaving age go to the Library section of this chatroom.
cheers
Lylea
The Black Cat
Jun 22, 2008 07:34pm
2
1
There are many ways we could help lower the youth unemployment rate.
One way is to spend money on local projects, such as the contruction of librarys and public facilities. Not only will this create a temporary improved employment rate;with having to employ workers in the construcion of these (perhaps creating more apprenticeship opportunities), but it will also create more jobs as these places will need workers to run them.
Another Idea that I suggest is perhaps a change of the school curriculum. In my opion the school curriculum does not spend enough time focusing on making children employment ready. Many of the things taught students do not like and will not help them in regards to working. Perhaps a curriculum devoted to workplace skills and that allows a student to do things they are interested in and believe will help them develop skills and not have to do subjects that doesnt suit them. It should also have a large focus on teaching everyone, education should not be a one time, be all or end or thing. Students and even Adults should be allowed and even encouraged to go back to school, to do something they enjoy or that may help them in regards to work. The HSC and SC in my opion do not help in regards to work employment and only serve as a stressor for students, which could explain the rise in mental health problems in youth.
More focus should be put on developing a childs ability to adapt to a changing world. If a person can't adapt in this rapid world then they can not remain employed for vary long.
Mental health is one contributing factor to youth unemployment, with increased stress from school and having to adapt constantly. People with Anxiety illnesses will have a hard time getting certain jobs (e.g Social phobia, unable to work in customer services) and people with bipolar or depression often feel discouraged to work and struggle to get by in daily life. If we make mental health a public issue and try help make work more friendly for mental health victims then perhaps we can lower the unemployment rate.
Lastly Criminal records make life hard for a person to get a job. Often people who resort to crime have had a tough child hood or struggle with their own personal identity. I think that criminal records are given out far to freely, as a person who does minor theft or pety crimes gets a crimal record. People make mistakes and it should not be allowed to haunt them their entire life. As soon as an employer sees that a person has had a criminal record then they are likely to be turned down.
With Regards The Black Cat
sami
Jun 25, 2008 05:53pm
2
0
It is hard to ignore the data showing increased risks of depression, poverty and damaging lifestyle choices in early school leavers. However there will always be students who choose to leave school as soon as they are legally able to. What are schools doing to prepare these students for life after school? Do schools have lessons in finding jobs and making lifestyle choices for these students? A formal school leavers program could make a difference for some youths and help them make decisions, recognize problems and lead to increased self esteem. Young people need to feel supported in their lifestyle choice and they need to be taught how to get support if needed.