tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/youth-employment-6431/articlesYouth employment – The Conversation2024-01-30T19:06:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215772024-01-30T19:06:08Z2024-01-30T19:06:08ZAustralia’s child workers are vulnerable to injury, harassment and exploitation thanks to weak and inconsistent laws<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571083/original/file-20240124-19-z7s3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=381%2C173%2C7170%2C4964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/good-looking-young-baker-setting-hot-1690544665">antoniodiaz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Young workers under 18 years of age occupy a unique and poorly understood position in Australia’s labour market.</p>
<p>They contribute to crucial industries and the economy, but are uniquely vulnerable. Compared to adults, child workers experience high rates of workplace injuries, bullying and sexual harassment, wage theft and unpredictable hours. </p>
<p>In Victoria alone, <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/muffin-break-served-360-criminal-charges-over-alleged-child-employment-breaches">franchises</a> currently face hundreds of criminal charges over alleged breaches of child employment laws, including shift lengths, break times and employing children after 9pm.</p>
<p>Protective regulations are insufficient and highly inconsistent across states and territories. Compounding this, few resources are directed to agencies responsible for monitoring the safety and quality of children’s work.</p>
<h2>Different types of children’s work</h2>
<p>In industrialised countries such as Australia, we use the term “children’s work” rather than “child labour”, which refers to work outside international legal frameworks that is harmful to physical or mental health. </p>
<p>Positive workplace experiences can help develop young people’s identities, career aspirations, financial skills and sense of responsibility.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young woman using a machine to make coffee in a cafe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572060/original/file-20240130-25-v08wmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is no proper monitoring or regulation of children’s work in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/equipment-coffee-shop-people-technology-concept-387109195">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The most visible child workers are employed in cafes, retail stores and fast-food outlets as apprentices or trainees. </p>
<p>Children also often do paid, informal jobs such as babysitting, dog walking or lawn mowing or work in family businesses such as farms and family-owned restaurants. This work is largely unmonitored, and in many states, is exempt from child employment legislation.</p>
<p>Another emerging form of work is content creation, where children and adolescents with large social media followings earn money by posting sponsored content, or feature on a parent-controlled platform.</p>
<p>The work of “kidfluencers” is not protected under Australian law, and there is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20platform%20services%20inquiry%20-%20March%202023%20report%20-%20Issues%20paper_0.pdf">no oversight</a> of working hours or of content created, despite potential online harassment, abuse and body-shaming. </p>
<p>Children’s participation in elite sport can also be considered work because <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Flipping-and-Spinning-Into-Labor-Regulations%3A-the-Hoffman/c3a2dc2c95262c414bb10f943642a1b616bc9632">training</a> can be extreme and young athletes may be subject to commercial contracts similar to professional athletes. There are currently no Australian or international legal provisions related to the duration and intensity of training regimes.</p>
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<p>Finally, children can be self-employed. A child can acquire an ABN on their own behalf from the age of 13. However, a lack of negotiating experience may make them vulnerable to coercion into <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20platform%20services%20inquiry%20-%20March%202023%20report%20-%20Issues%20paper_0.pdf">unfair contracts</a> with brands and talent agencies.</p>
<h2>Patterns of work undertaken by children</h2>
<p>It is unclear how many children are employed in Australia at any given time.</p>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects data on employed people aged 15 and over but only reports occupation by the aggregated category of 15-24 years. The last ABS survey on employed children aged 5-14 years was completed almost two decades ago in 2006.</p>
<p>Other Australian surveys estimate labour force status only for people aged 18 to 64, or place limited focus on child employment. Indeed, the International Labour Organisation has lamented the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/31806651/Egan_Tackling_the_Rise_of_Child_Labour_docx_2015_International_and_Comparative_Law_Quarterly_64_3_601_630">lack of data</a> on child employment in industrialised countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teenager performing in front of her iPhone as she records a blog post" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572065/original/file-20240130-15-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">No regulation or oversight puts kidfluencers at risk of online abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/kidinfluencer?image_type=photo">Red Fox Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>What is clear however, is most young Australians do not transition from education or training to work, but instead, <a href="https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Erica-Smith.pdf">combine part-time work</a> and study, often for many years before reaching adulthood and working full-time.</p>
<p>Research suggests children are <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=lsay_research">more likely to work</a> if they are girls and from English-speaking backgrounds and from higher socioeconomic groups.</p>
<p>This may be explained by the gendered and classed preferences of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2020.1729965">service industry</a> which includes positions in fashion, retail and cafes where deferential, well-presented and engaging young employees are preferred.</p>
<p>Although there are some regulations restricting work in hazardous jobs, child workers in cafés and restaurants may still be expected to use dangerous equipment such as knives, hot ovens or deep fryers. Even when young people are aware of their <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281946119_The_practical_potential_of_self-advocacy_for_improving_safety_outcomes_for_school-aged_workers">health and safety rights</a>, their capacity to redress violations may be limited.</p>
<p>Children want to work to gain skills and experience, enjoy social contact and earn money for discretionary spending. However, an estimated 10% work out of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26558655">financial necessity</a>, making vital contributions to low-income households.</p>
<h2>Legislation currently protecting working children</h2>
<p>In June 2023, Australia signed the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=normlexpub:12100:0::no::P12100_ilo_code:C138">International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention 138</a>, obliging all jurisdictions to protect child rights and presenting a powerful case for strategies to promote positive early work experiences.</p>
<p>However, while Australia’s <a href="https://employsure.com.au/guides/fair-work-australia/what-is-the-fair-work-act/">Fair Work Act</a> contains clauses such as ensuring minimum wages for junior employees, it has an express exemption for children under 18, allowing states and territories to self-regulate.</p>
<p>Other laws relevant to children’s work prevent children being employed during school hours or restrict hazardous work such as scaffolding or crane and forklift operation. There are also restrictions on very young children participating in some forms of public entertainment and measures deterring underpayments.</p>
<h2>What changes are needed?</h2>
<p>Currently, Australian regulation and policies governing work for minors are not fit for purpose, a problem compounded by children’s limited knowledge of relevant rights and obligations.</p>
<p>There is an urgent need to develop new protections and where possible, make the current patchwork of Australian laws relevant to children’s work more uniform. Particular attention should be given to minimum starting ages, participation in risky occupations, working hours relating to age or schooling, and requirements for employers such as working with children checks.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young boy with back to the camera playing tennis" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572063/original/file-20240130-27-99ev9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Young athletes may be subject to commercial contracts but these are unregulated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/back-tennis-person-racket-game-fitness-2416593201">PeopleImages.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Government and non-government agencies also have a role to protect young workers by setting responsive guidelines, codes and industry standards and implementing strategies to respond to problems.</p>
<p>There is no doubt children in some parts of the world are subjected to dangerous and exploitative practices that would rarely be seen in Australia.</p>
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<p>However, our current understanding of the diversity and quality of work experiences of children and adolescents in Australia and other industrialised countries is severely limited by longstanding data deficits. Addressing this problem can establish a platform from which Australia can call on all nations to end hazardous child labour. </p>
<p>The significance and urgency of reforming policy and practice is amplified by profound changes impacting the world of work in which young people participate including the deregulation of trading hours, growth in franchises and work that is increasingly managed via automated technologies. </p>
<p>Child and adolescent labour is integral to the economy, yet their work experiences are complex. Comprehensive reforms will help safeguard the current generation of young workers and ensure a future where their dignity, rights and well-being are respected and protected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221577/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paula McDonald receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Regulations protecting children in hazardous jobs are insufficient or non-existent, leaving, a significant part of the Australian workforce open to exploitation.Paula McDonald, Professor of Work and Organisation, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145472023-10-05T11:11:29Z2023-10-05T11:11:29ZOntario’s 2-tier minimum wage: As discriminatory now as it was in the 1990s<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/ontarios-2-tier-minimum-wage-as-discriminatory-now-as-it-was-in-the-1990s" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The province of Ontario <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002886/ontario-increasing-minimum-wage-to-1655-an-hour">has increased</a> its minimum wage to $16.55 per hour — unless workers are students under the age of 18, in which case their labour is only worth $15.60.</p>
<p>Québec and Manitoba eliminated their two-tier minimum wage in the late 1980s over concerns that the wage differential amounted to age discrimination and therefore violated Canada’s <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/">Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a>. Ontario almost did as well 30 years ago. But the Ontario NDP government broke its promise, as I detail below.</p>
<p>The issue is personal for me. When I was 17 years old, I was hired by my hometown library. But a week into the job I was called into the head librarian’s office and told that they had made an administrative error. They would need to pay me the lower rate. </p>
<p>With that, my wages dropped from $4 an hour to $3.15. Over the next year, I worked for substantially less than other students hired at the same time and who were doing the same work. This is an experience not easily forgotten.</p>
<h2>Age discrimination</h2>
<p>A few years later, I did something about it. As the head of a provincial student group, <a href="https://ondy.ontariondp.ca/">Ontario New Democratic Youth</a>, I launched a campaign on the issue in late 1989. As I wrote at the time: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If the two-tiered system was based upon any other category (of difference), it would not be tolerated.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>We made the case that it was “unfair to value one person’s labour less than another’s simply on the basis of age.”</p>
<p>We then launched a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge on the issue of age discrimination with the help of Toronto labour lawyer <a href="https://goldblattpartners.com/our-lawyers/steven-barrett/">Steven Barrett</a>. A notice of application was submitted to the Supreme Court of Ontario in April 1990.</p>
<p>But then, most unexpectedly, the Ontario NDP won the election in September 1990 and <a href="https://www.tvo.org/article/orange-shockwave-how-ontario-got-its-first-ever-ndp-government">Bob Rae</a> became premier.</p>
<p>It seemed strange to us to continue the court challenge as our youth group was the party’s youth wing. Besides, the Ontario NDP had promised to eliminate the two-tier minimum wage in its election platform. It was also mentioned in <a href="https://www.poltext.org/sites/poltext.org/files/discoursV2/Ontario/ON_DT_1990_35_01.txt">the government’s first speech from the throne</a>. So, we dropped the lawsuit. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Court documents." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552305/original/file-20231005-28-q6twsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A photo of the paperwork pertaining to the lawsuit the author’s youth group launched and then dropped.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Steven High)</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The Ontario government reduced the student differential in 1991 to 45 cents an hour from 85 cents an hour, promising to eliminate it altogether the following year.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/ndp-politician-bob-mackenzie-dead/article_8a4536d2-8d22-5e9b-92bb-7d90e9c320ee.html">Bob Mackenzie</a>, the NDP’s labour minister, even told the media at the time that the under-18 minimum wage “just cannot work in a society that promises equality and fairness. In fact, the existence of the student differential is currently before the courts in a challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” </p>
<p>But then something changed, and the NDP decided to maintain the lower differential.</p>
<p>I have long wondered what happened. </p>
<h2>Employer lobbying</h2>
<p>Thirty years later, I am writing a book on how the NDP government responded to the industrial crisis. So, I decided to do some digging in the archives to find out why. </p>
<p>Thanks to <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/members/all/richard-alexander-allen">Richard Allen</a>, an NDP cabinet minister and historian who donated his records to McMaster University, I discovered that the Ontario Restaurant Association and other employer groups lobbied hard to convince the NDP cabinet to reverse itself.</p>
<p>According to archival material, they argued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The student minimum wage category should not be seen as discriminatory against young inexperienced workers, instead it should be viewed as an affirmative action initiative which assists young inexperienced workers in gaining employment.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These were tough economic times and the youth unemployment rate was a dismal <a href="https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLI-PCrossYouthUnemployment10-15-webready.pdf">18 per cent</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A newsletter on newsprint with the headline Youth Viewpoints." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552307/original/file-20231005-15-gui2v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Ontario New Democrat newsletter on the minimum wage differential for students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Steven High)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To find out more, I filed an access-to-information request and discovered that a decision was made in September 1991, the same month the <a href="https://springmag.ca/rae-days-lessons-from-the-social-contract-30-years-later">NDP abandoned its longstanding promise to deliver public auto insurance</a>, to hold off on eliminating the youth differential. </p>
<p>Instead, the Student Minimum Wage Consultation Group was formed with representatives of the four main employer groups in the hospitality industry, all with a strong vested interest in maintaining the youth differential, as well as two service-sector unions and an obscure student group nobody ever heard of. </p>
<p>The consultation group recommended keeping the differential.</p>
<h2>Discriminatory differential</h2>
<p>In its April 1993 cabinet submission on the subject, the Ministry of Labour conceded that the differential was discriminatory but recommended it was maintained anyway.</p>
<p>Here is how they worded it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Clearly, the student minimum wage does discriminate on the basis of age and student status. The student component does not appear to present any legal difficulties, but the age discrimination is a complex legal issue.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It went on to say that “legal analysis concluded that if a Charter challenge were to be raised again there is a risk that the student differential could be found to violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the basis of age discrimination.” </p>
<p>Thanks to us dropping our case, the ministry could advise: “There is no legal ruling directly on this issue and no current challenge.” The NDP cabinet therefore agreed with the warped line of reasoning that paying less to younger workers was a form of affirmative action. </p>
<p>Thirty years later, young people in Ontario are still paying the price: 95 cents an hour, to be precise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven High receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Thirty years ago, he was a member of the New Democratic Party.</span></em></p>Ontario almost joined Manitoba and Québec in eliminating the under-18 minimum wage 30 years ago. Then Bob Rae reneged on an election promise.Steven High, Professor of History, Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS), Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2091322023-07-09T20:05:43Z2023-07-09T20:05:43Z‘I was putting like 20 resumes in a month’: research tracks young Australians’ precarious work and study lives after Year 12<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535699/original/file-20230705-23-uqgch7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C43%2C5734%2C3785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexis Brown/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New <a href="https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/media/research/reports/young-people-experiencing-disadvantage-significant-concerns-about-their-future">research released today</a> by The Smith Family shows how leaving school can be a difficult and complex time for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also shows how COVID has made this more difficult and complex. </p>
<p>The new report includes a survey of more than 1,000 young people who were in Year 12 in late 2020 and 33 interviews with some of these survey respondents. The same group was surveyed in 2021.</p>
<p>This research looks at what has happened since the group left school two years ago. It looks at whether they are working or studying, and what is influencing their choices and pathways after school. </p>
<h2>The good news</h2>
<p>The good news is more young people from low income families are working or studying after they have left school, up from 77% in 2021 to 85% in 2022.</p>
<p>Only 3% were not working, studying, doing unpaid work, volunteering or looking for work in 2022, compared to 5% in 2021.</p>
<p>But 10% of the group did not complete year 12 – echoing a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/why-are-so-many-kids-dropping-out-of-school-/102536810">national decline</a> in the number of young people who are not finishing school.</p>
<p>In recent years, school retention rates have reached <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2023/child-care-education-and-training/school-education#retention">record lows</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/20-of-australian-students-dont-finish-high-school-non-mainstream-schools-have-a-lot-to-teach-us-about-helping-kids-stay-207021">20% of Australian students don't finish high school: non-mainstream schools have a lot to teach us about helping kids stay</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>COVID’s impact</h2>
<p>But the study also found some interviewees were pulling out of study and training because they can’t afford it. As Kim* explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You pretty much have assignments back-to-back, and you’ve got placement as well […]. So you’ve got to think, ‘can I go that long without working for an income?’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This mirrors a wider trend, where students (of all ages) from fields such as teaching, social work and nursing, say <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/05/urgent-calls-to-end-compulsory-unpaid-internships-as-students-forced-to-quit-due-to-cost-of-living">they need income support</a> while doing compulsory unpaid work placements.</p>
<p>COVID lockdowns also disrupted young people’s plans and made it difficult for them to restart. One interviewee, Peter, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I needed a specific amount of placement to be able to get my Cert II. And, you know with COVID […] I couldn’t actually get my hours […] And I moved on […] it’s not really a goal anymore.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man gets a book from a library shelf" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535700/original/file-20230705-19-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unpaid work placements make it very difficult for students to keep earning vital income.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adam Winger/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-no-longer-justify-unpaid-labour-why-uni-students-need-to-be-paid-for-work-placements-203421">'We can no longer justify unpaid labour': why uni students need to be paid for work placements</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Precarious work</h2>
<p>The study also shows young people from disadvantaged backgrounds working in precarious part-time, low-level jobs (if they can find work at all). As Mercedes told the researchers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wasn’t getting paid properly. I was chasing my pay all the time. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Peter also spoke of the difficulty of finding work: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was putting like 20 resumes in a month. No one answered me […] </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of those in work, 14% were working two or more jobs, 37% wanted to work more hours, and 34% had looked for a new job in the past four weeks. The most common jobs were in retail and sales, labouring and other construction, transport, distribution and warehouse roles, and hospitality.</p>
<p>A complex web of factors explains these trends.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A laptop covered in stickers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535720/original/file-20230705-27-xwsenm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Of those surveyed, about one third of those who were already working had looked for a new job recently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kenny Eliason/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, pandemic lockdowns and school closures have affected <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-07/school-attendance-retention-numbers-fall-across-australia/101935342">the mental health</a> of young Australians, which in turn has seen less school participation and Year 12 completion.</p>
<p>This has made it harder for young people to get and maintain job and follow studies after school. Of those surveyed, 30% said they had poor mental health. Of this group, 46% said it “often” or “always” had an impact on things other young people want to do.</p>
<p>But even before the pandemic, many public schools did not have enough resources to support senior students from disadvantaged backgrounds into employment. This is a missed opportunity and shows how, thanks to funding scarcity, government schools can end up inadvertently reproducing disadvantage.</p>
<p>There have long been calls to <a href="https://www.monash.edu/education/cypep/research/young-women-choosing-careers-who-decides">overhaul careers education</a>. And the need for this has only become more acute, due to the pressures of COVID and declining student mental health. </p>
<p>In the longer-term, the job market has changed and this has disproportionately affected young people. While there is high demand for <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-we-know-there-is-a-skills-shortage-here-are-3-jobs-summit-ideas-to-start-fixing-it-right-away-188833">retail work</a>, the emphasis is on skilled occupations. </p>
<p>During the past year, <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/biggest-skill-shortages-in-low-skilled-jobs-that-don-t-need-a-degree-20230305-p5cphf">60% of total employment growth</a> has been in occupations that require a vocational qualification, compared to 36% in professions requiring a university degree. Meanwhile, <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/new-research-australias-skills-system-continues-to-crumble-after-covid/">vocational education and training</a> continues to be in disarray and in needs of more funds and focus.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-my-future-is-really-scary-school-leavers-are-not-getting-the-careers-support-they-need-190553">'Thinking about my future is really scary' – school leavers are not getting the careers support they need</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Governments have lots of opportunities now to listen</h2>
<p>The Smith Family’s findings come at a time when governments and policy makers are looking closely at how training, employment and education work in Australia. </p>
<p>A federal Parliament <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Employment_Education_and_Training/VETInquiry">inquiry</a> is currently looking the status of vocational education and training, while the Treasury’s <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/review/employment-whitepaper">employment white paper</a>, due in September, is looking at how all Australians can enjoy full employment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord">Universities Accord review</a> is also looking at making higher education more accessible to people from disadvantaged backgrounds. </p>
<p>The Smith Family research shows once again how young people from disadvantaged backgrounds need additional support both at school and once they leave.</p>
<p>The continued impact of the pandemic, together with the rising cost-of-living, show how governments need to be very mindful of how they are supporting a whole generation as they navigate their way into post-school life. </p>
<p><em>*names have been changed.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/these-5-equity-ideas-should-be-at-the-heart-of-the-universities-accord-203418">These 5 equity ideas should be at the heart of the Universities Accord</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Walsh currently receives funding from The Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Australian Research Council. He has worked with The Smith Family and sits in a voluntary capacity on the Growing Careers Project External Reference Group. He was not involved in the creation of the report discussed in this article</span></em></p>New research from The Smith Family tracks a group of young people, two years after finishing high school.Lucas Walsh, Professor and Director of the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1900122022-09-13T15:09:28Z2022-09-13T15:09:28ZGhana’s efforts to employ young people and regrow forests could work better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482794/original/file-20220905-7608-fj41yr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghana has invested significant resources into regenerating lost forest cover.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Deforestation has been an issue of global concern for many years. Deforestation is a major environmental concern because of its adverse effects on ecological sustainability, agricultural productivity and overall quality of life of the people. As populations increase, there is a higher demand for both forest products and forest lands for development activities. The Food and Agricultural Organization <a href="https://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/">reports</a> that only 4 billion hectares of the 6 billion hectares of forest that existed about 8,000 years ago are now available globally. Recent estimates by the FAO suggests that, globally, nearly 10 million hectares of forest was lost between 2015-2020. </p>
<p>World leaders have attempted to address this issue through <a href="https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/rio_20_forests_brochure.pdf">global conventions</a> and goals, including the <a href="https://sdg.iisd.org/news/cifor-publication-analyzes-sdgs-for-forests-and-people/">sustainable development goals</a>.Unfortunately, these substantial global committments and investments in addressing deforestation have not been effective. </p>
<p>Ghana is one of the countries that has <a href="https://benjigyampoh.blogspot.com/2011/10/deforestation-in-ghana-governments.html">lost forest</a> cover at a high rate. Between 1990 and 2000, Ghana lost about 135,000 hectares of forest annually. From 2001 to 2021, Ghana lost 1.4 million hectares of tree cover, representing a <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/country/GHA/">20%</a> decrease in tree cover since 2000. </p>
<p>Global Forest Watch (GFW) <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/ghana-is-losing-its-rainforest-faster-than-any-other-country-in-the-world/">reports</a> that Ghana lost 60% of its primary rainforest in 2018, which was the highest in the world. </p>
<p>One third of Ghana’s land area of 238,500 km2 was forest at the <a href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6468764">start of the 1900s</a> . Between 1990 and 2005, 26 percent of that <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/forest-area-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html">cover</a> was lost. Forest resources are important in Ghana because most rural livelihoods are dependent on it for food and ecological balance.</p>
<p>The causes of the loss of forest cover are many. They include human activities such as logging, illegal mining and unsustainable farming practices.</p>
<p>The government of Ghana has over the years implemented a number of policies and programmes to reduce deforestation. Still, it has remained a major environmental problem. Programmes were poorly planned and carried out. They lacked sufficient logistics, funding and political commitment. Policies changed as governments did.</p>
<p>In 2018, Ghana <a href="https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2018/08/13/akufo-addo-launches-youth-in-afforestation-programme/">launched </a>the Youth in Afforestation programme. Its aim was to restore degraded forest cover through reforestation, rehabilitation and protection. The programme also sought to create jobs for some unemployed youth in Ghana. <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201808150504.html">The plan</a> was to employ 65,000 young people to plant about 10 million tree seedlings of different varieties across Ghana within two years, with the option of an extension based on satisfactory results.</p>
<p>Little research has been done on the Youth in Afforestation programme. We did our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941920.2021.2019359?journalCode=usnr20">research</a> to provide information about what the programme had contributed to forest resources management. Our assessment of its prospects and challenges could be a guide for any necessary reforms to achieve the programme’s objectives.</p>
<p>In short, we found that the afforestation programme did create jobs in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors of the economy and help to conserve the natural environment. But there’s a need to minimise political interference and ensure that the requisite human, logistical and financial resources are in place. Otherwise the progress won’t be sustained.</p>
<h2>Youth in Afforestation</h2>
<p>The current government of Ghana introduced the Youth in Afforestation programme in 2018. Its challenges include financial, logistical, institutional and forest governance issues. </p>
<p>It has employed over 40,000 recruits since 2018. They are engaged in planting, tending, weeding, and thinning trees. But there are serious concerns about the sustainability of these jobs, because sustainable funding wasn’t planned. As per the initial plan, the youths engaged in the programme were to be employed for a period of two years, with the possibility of an extension contingent on satisfactory outcomes. </p>
<p>Most of the forest districts exceeded their targets from 2018 to 2019. Put together,<a href="https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2022/03/05/minister-says-over-67-million-seedlings-planted-in-afforestation-programmes/"> 67.4 million seedlings</a> were planted as part of the programme. This must be interpreted with caution, though, because it did not take into account the seedling survival rates. We found that the programme established about 525 hectares of forest in 2018 and 788 hectares in 2019. Put together, the programme restored about 1,313 hectares of forested areas within two years of its implementation. This indicates that the programme has been effective in restoring the country’s lost forest cover. </p>
<p>Other afforestation programmes in sub-Saharan Africa have been much more efficient. For example, the African Union’s <a href="https://www.greatgreenwall.org/about-great-green-wall">Green Wall</a> initiative rehabilitated 3 million hectares of land in Burkina Faso from 2007 to 2019 and 15 million hectares of degraded land in Ethiopia. The same initiative led to the restoration of 5 million hectares of land in Nigeria and Niger. </p>
<p>The lack of sustainable funding resulting from change of governments and a lack of political commitment has led to other problems such as inadequate logistics and untimely payment of salaries to employees. We interviewed beneficiaries of the programme and found that 40% of recruits and supervisors complained about inadequate logistics. Delayed salaries were a complaint among 38% of the beneficiaries interviewed. </p>
<p>Political interference appeared to be the major institutional and forest governance issue confronting the sustainable implementation of the Youth in Afforestation Programme. </p>
<p>The Forest Services Division is the implementing agency for the programme and is responsible for supervising the recruits. But the division is not involved in recruiting field officers. That’s done by the<a href="https://www.yea.gov.gh/"> Youth Employment Agency</a>, whose head is appointed by the ruling party. Also, 60% of the field officers interviewed said they got their appointments through their members of parliament, most of whom were members of the ruling party. </p>
<p>The politicised nature of the implementation process threaten its sustainability, especially when there is a change in government. </p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>The rapid depletion of forest resource continues to threaten sustainable economic, social, and ecological development in Ghana. The current forest restoration strategy adopted by the government through the Youth in afforestation Programme is unsustainable. To move it from rhetoric to reality, there is a need to reduce political interference and put the necessary human, logistical and financial resources in place. </p>
<p>The current approach should shift to a community-based and voluntary approach to forest restoration and conservation. This has been shown to work in the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/under-a-new-law-students-in-the-philippines-must-plant-10-trees-before-they-can-graduate-elementary-high-school-and-college">Philippines</a>, for example, where students at elementary and high school and college plant 10 trees as a graduation requirement. This initiative has resulted in 175 million new tree seedlings being planted every year in the country . </p>
<p><em>Kwadwo Nketia Sarpong Kumankuma,a graduate student at the University of Stavanger and Ata Yeboah Senior co-authored this article</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghana’s government should shift to a community-based and voluntary approach to forest restoration and conservationStephen Appiah Takyi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)Owusu Amponsah, Senior Lecturer, Department of planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1805462022-08-29T19:54:48Z2022-08-29T19:54:48ZMicrocredentials and mentoring: How universities can boost student employability<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479415/original/file-20220816-8463-5ffk8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C69%2C5137%2C2599&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Microcredentials are short, modular programs or courses that focus on developing skills and competencies to help students enter the labour market quickly.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wes Lewis/unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The looming recession climate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/wesleywhistle/2020/04/06/what-a-likely-recession-means-for-higher-education/?sh=4cb5947a6f83">is causing concerns over skyrocketing student debt</a>. On top of a deeply <a href="https://news.yorku.ca/2022/02/11/lack-of-affordable-housing-affects-student-mental-health-promotes-social-hierarchies/">unaffordable housing market</a>, these factors call for universities to be more relevant in terms of preparing students for employability. </p>
<p>This is a break with the traditional mission of the universities. Economist George Fallis, professor emeritus at York University, notes that traditionally, universities aimed to “<a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED535141">provide liberal education for undergraduates, to conduct research and to contribute to society including the economy and culture</a>.” </p>
<p>This is what shaped autonomous thinkers and better citizens. While there is a lot of merit to preparing better citizens, this aim can be compatible with helping students gain skills for making a living while creating accessible and relevant educational opportunities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-have-thrived-despite-past-disruptions-and-could-grow-even-stronger-after-covid-19-150346">Universities have thrived despite past disruptions and could grow even stronger after COVID-19</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Chances of employment</h2>
<p>In Canada, having a bachelor’s degree increases a person’s chances of employment by <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/442509/canada-employment-rate-by-educational-attainment">close to 25 per cent, compared to having only a high-school diploma</a>, but all students don’t gain these benefits equally.</p>
<p>Three years after graduation, 90 per cent of Canadian university graduates are employed, however <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2020002-eng.htm">females and humanities graduates are more likely to work part-time</a>. For some, this is by choice, but 42 per cent are working part-time involuntarily.
Another concern is that four out of five graduates are working in a domain somewhat related to their studies, but close to 20 per cent are working in unrelated fields. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man sitting at a keyboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479418/original/file-20220816-10908-2wgmlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many graduates remain underemployed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s worse is that many graduates are underemployed, meaning that they work in jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree. Immigrant women who are university graduates from institutions outside Canada are more likely to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200902/dq200902a-eng.htm">experience persistent overqualification</a>.</p>
<p>In Canada, many <a href="https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2020-41_Relationship%20between%20COVID-19%20and%20poverty_Duan.pdf">low-income people have been pushed into poverty</a> as the pandemic unfolded. Although recessions have been known to <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20090226171626384">spark an increase in people seeking post-secondary education</a>, it’s not clear that this means committing to a multi-year degree.</p>
<h2>Integrated professional experiences</h2>
<p>In 2021, Times Higher Education — a body that provides data about universities — published <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-graduate-jobs-global-university-employability-ranking">a list of universities producing the most employable graduates, as ranked by companies around the world</a>. While it’s unclear which companies participated or what fields they represent, according to this ranking, the institutions named often integrate professional experiences in their degrees, such as a mix of entrepreneurial hubs for start-ups and innovation incubators and work-integrated learning opportunities. </p>
<p>Here are four ways universities can tailor their offerings to become more relevant to students:</p>
<h2>1. Microcredentials</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/policyfocus/micro-credentials/">College and Institutes Canada</a>, a “microcredential is a certification of assessed competencies that is additional, alternate or complementary to, or a component of a formal qualification.”</p>
<p>Microcredentials are short, modular programs or courses that focus on developing skills and competencies to enable students to enter the Canadian labour market quickly and work in industries and communities that need workers. </p>
<p>Universities can offer microcredentials by repackaging courses, creating nimble courses that meet specific employment market needs and building rigorous evaluation methods that make them credible. </p>
<p>A report prepared for the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer — a not-for-profit agency that governs credit-transfer agreements between post-secondary institutions — notes that <a href="https://www.bccat.ca/pubs/Reports/MicroCredentials2020.pdf">Thompson Rivers University and Simon Fraser are universities that have exemplary practices in offering microcredit courses</a>. In Ontario, <a href="https://micro.ecampusontario.ca/">eCampusOntario</a> is working to support pilot projects.</p>
<h2>2. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition</h2>
<p><a href="http://capla.ca/what-is-rpl/">Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition</a> (PLAR) is a process that allows people to obtain formal recognition of their prior learning and competencies against established standards and policies in institutions of higher education. </p>
<p>PLAR avoids the need for a person to relearn what he or she has already acquired through previous formal or informal learning experiences in educational or experiential settings. This allows students to save both time and money if they can gain credits towards some programs or certifications. </p>
<p>A recent study by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a not-for-profit in the United States that helps Western states and institutions address employment and higher education issues, <a href="https://www.wiche.edu/key-initiatives/recognition-of-learning/">has shown that PLAR boosts completion rates of adult students by 17 per cent</a>. </p>
<p>Universities can offer PLAR services through <a href="https://capla.ca/what-is-rpl/">one-on-one examination of portfolios or projects and challenges</a> that provide proof of equivalency of skills and competencies acquired in programs. For example, <a href="https://www.athabascau.ca/prior-learning/frequently-asked-questions.html">Athabasca University in Alberta has a centre for learning accreditation with full PLAR services</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women are seen seated in a room looking at a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479416/original/file-20220816-2787-xntu8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Developing human connections is critical for university students as they build expertise in particular fields.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(UK Black Tech)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Mentorship</h2>
<p>Mentoring by community members and industry representatives, as well as student leadership in peer mentoring, are key aspects of human connection. <a href="https://hilo.hawaii.edu/blog/cce/2021/02/05/the-importance-of-connection/">Developing human connections</a> is critical for university students as they build expertise in particular fields. </p>
<p>Students need a sense of belonging, especially since the closure of university campuses <a href="https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/seeking-human-connections-when-all-weve-got-are-virtual-ones">in the wake of the pandemic</a>. Universities can explore novel ways of building mentorship programs, whether <a href="https://www.mentoring.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Full_Toolkit.pdf">traditional one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, team mentoring, peer mentoring or online mentoring</a>, through their alumni networks or partners. </p>
<h2>4. Partnerships</h2>
<p>Universities can develop meaningful partnerships by co-ordinating efforts to reach out to businesses, community organizations and government bodies. Benefits to universities and students from partnerships include offering students <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/academicfutures/sites/default/files/attached-files/benson_et_al.pdf">access to mentorship, employment opportunties</a> and experiential learning.</p>
<p>These partnerships can take <a href="https://www.brightspotstrategy.com/industry-university-partnerships">many forms</a>, such as research projects, internships, <a href="https://www.concordia.ca/academics/co-op.html">co-op placements</a>, funded PhDs or <a href="https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/accelerate/industrial-postdoc">post-doctoral fellowships</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.uiin.org/events/">networking events</a>, prototype or product development seminars, <a href="https://www.concordia.ca/students/gradproskills.html">skills workshops</a>, <a href="https://www.concordia.ca/next-gen/innovation-lab/challenges.html">innovation challenges</a> or alliances to provide mentorship to students. </p>
<p>These four mechanisms are nothing novel, but through a fine meshing of microcredentials, PLAR, mentorship and partnerships, universities can improve the relevance of what students learn. It can also heighten their chances of employability while being more inclusive of different needs and without disrupting the whole system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann-Louise Davidson receives funding from SSHRC, FRQSC, MÉÉS and OBVIA. </span></em></p>Recognizing and accrediting students’ prior learning and competencies is one way universities can tweak business-as-usual approaches.Ann-Louise Davidson, Concordia University Research Chair, Maker culture; Professor, Educational Technology, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855662022-06-26T12:12:00Z2022-06-26T12:12:00ZAmid a red-hot summer job market, teenaged workers need to keep health and safety in mind<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470865/original/file-20220624-15980-qmxx41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5482%2C3646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many seasonal businesses are struggling to find enough workers again this summer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a child and youth studies researcher, I’m interested in the relationship between teenagers and work. After two years of lockdowns that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/youth-employment-summer-jobs-1.6018151">kept many teens from working</a>, the current labour shortage offers many <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/canada-teenagers-being-hired-by-businesses-to-tackle-labour-shortage/ar-AAYuSVJ">exciting job opportunities for them this summer</a>. This may be especially welcome news for those who have had a harder time finding work, such as younger and <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/people-color-employment-disparities-start-early">racialized teens</a>.</p>
<p>Grade eight student Miriam, the daughter of one of my colleagues, shared her excitement with me about entering the workforce. She is keen to draw on her babysitting experience in her new job as a junior counsellor at a summer day camp: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I feel excited but also nervous. I’ve never worked (in a formal job) before. But I know I’m lucky to get it… I think it will be cool and interesting but also hard and tiring. I think I’ll really like it and I know I’ll like making my own money and meeting new friends.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Early part-time work offers many opportunities for teens: earning money, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-teenage-jobs-are-good-for-your-kids-86181">building skills and career networks</a>, <a href="https://tupress.temple.edu/book/1027">developing friendships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2006.00030.x">fostering confidence and independence</a>. And teens themselves generally have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218758148">positive feelings about early, part-time work</a>.</p>
<h2>Young workers are vulnerable</h2>
<p>There are also issues that arise with early work, and a key one is health and safety. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218758148">Young workers are particularly vulnerable</a> because they tend to do short-term work, often lack training and safety education, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.10.024">may see injury as just “part of the job.”</a></p>
<p>Young workers are also in unequal relationships of power with employers, both as employees and because of their young age. They lack the confidence to speak up, and employers are less likely to listen to them when they raise concerns.<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.10.024">link text</a> </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/managers-must-listen-to-workers-of-all-ages-on-covid-19-safety-146258">Managers must listen to workers of all ages on COVID-19 safety</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Parents often feel positively about their children working, leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1021">some downplaying potential risks</a>. Threads of Life, a Canadian charity that supports families after a workplace fatality, found that two-thirds of businesses in Canada plan to hire more young workers in 2022 than they have in the past two years, but <a href="https://threadsoflife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Apr-18-2022-Media-Release-Draft-_APPROVED.pdf">only half have a safety program</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teenage girl and a preschool aged girl colour with pencil crayons on a sofa." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470840/original/file-20220624-15980-bj7skw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part-time work offers opportunities for teens to earn money, build skills and career networks, develop friendships and foster confidence and independence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Labour laws are provincial and vary across Canada. In most places, children between 14 and 16 can work, with limitations on what kinds of work they can do, how long they can work and at what times (especially during school hours). Usually for young teens who are 12 or 13, a permit is needed. Teens must be 17 or 18 to do more dangerous work, such as logging or mining. Rules tend to be more lax when a child works in a family business. </p>
<p>Notably, in <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/hire-train-and-manage-employees/youth-in-the-workplace/minimum-age-and-workplace-restrictions">Saskatchewan</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,young-workers,factsheet.html">Manitoba</a>, children between 13 and 15 must complete a Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course before working. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-young-workers-safety-labour-law-review-1.6490172">Québec is currently re-evaluating its laws around children’s work</a> in the face of rising accidents among teens under 16, and the B.C. government <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021LBR0027-001400">recently toughened up their rules around early work</a>. </p>
<h2>Teens’ experiences with work</h2>
<p>My research team conducted <a href="https://brocku.ca/social-sciences/child-and-youth-studies/people-in-our-department/rebecca-raby/first-jobs/#1582582952382-0cae60ea-1801">in-depth interviews with young workers under 16</a> in a range of jobs in Ontario and B.C. We also conducted over 200 surveys with grade nine students in Ontario and held 14 focus groups with some of these students. We sought their experiences, thoughts on early work and how they might respond to work-related challenges. </p>
<p>We learned that, while Canadian governments rarely collect data on working children under 15, many young teens work. They babysit, deliver papers, ump baseball games, sell products and do many other jobs. A small portion even work very long hours. Others want to work, but are unsure how to find a job.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child riding a bicycle and holding a newspaper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470838/original/file-20220624-26-8wkd5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many young teens work by babysitting, delivering papers, umpiring baseball games and more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We asked the students about how they would handle unsafe work conditions. Some said they would ask peers for guidance. Given that many teens have had little work experience over the last few years, this inclination suggests that teens will be talking to other inexperienced peers. </p>
<p>A number of our participants were also reluctant to say no to unsafe work and did not know they have the right to refuse unsafe work. Most had not yet taken the Ontario grade 10 secondary course that addresses workplace rights and safety. </p>
<h2>Parents need to protect teens</h2>
<p>It is exciting that young workers have the chance to start early employment this summer, but many may be insufficiently prepared. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218758148">Parents play an important role in supporting their working children</a>, from taking them to work to counselling them when work intrudes on school. </p>
<p>Parents need to ask and advise about safety and fairness in their children’s new workplaces. Employers need to listen to young workers’ concerns and ensure that new workers receive sufficient, repeated safety information. Young people themselves need to pay attention to safety precautions, and bravely speak up if a situation feels unsafe or unfair.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Raby has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Brock University's Council for Research in the Social Sciences, Brock University's Social Justice Research Institute; and Western University's Faculty of Social Science.</span></em></p>Young workers are particularly vulnerable in the workplace because they tend to do short-term work, often lack training and safety education, and may see injury as just “part of the job.”Rebecca Raby, Professor in Child and Youth Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1804822022-04-10T13:09:44Z2022-04-10T13:09:44Z#ToxicWorkplaces: The future of youth employment in Nigeria<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456972/original/file-20220407-10725-rc9vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5284%2C3675&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurialism in Nigeria has shifted responsibility for creating employment from employers to unemployed youths.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since Nigeria declared its aspiration to be one of the world’s <a href="https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pdfuploads/Abridged_Version_of_Nigeria%20Vision%202020.pdf">top 20 economies by 2020</a>, I have been doing research on the damaging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12732">impact of urban restructuring and economic growth on marginalized urban women</a> in Ibadan, Nigeria. </p>
<p>However, in the past four years, my interest has widened to include the impact of the same issues on Nigerian youth. I have noticed that some youths have become “beneficiaries” of urban restructuring via job creation. Despite this, the city remains a paradoxical space.</p>
<p>While I now see sharply dressed youths rushing off to work, I also see youths engaged in various hustles to meet their daily needs. The latter observation is unsurprising, given that <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---africa/---ro-abidjan/---ilo-abuja/documents/publication/wcms_819111.pdf">63 per cent of young people (aged 15-34) are underemployed or unemployed</a>.</p>
<h2>Economic growth in Nigeria</h2>
<p>There’s been a major focus on strengthening economic growth in Nigeria <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0308518X221083989">through neoliberal urban renewal projects</a> like the <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/05/a-private-city-the-rise-of-eko-atlantic">transformation of urban spaces through real estate development</a> and “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/01/we-woke-to-bulldozers-nigeria-slum-clearance-leaves-thousands-homeless">cleaning up the city</a>” to attract regional/global investors, which are expected to lead to job creation. </p>
<p>These projects have transformed the cityscape, including an increase in the number of <a href="https://www.thepalmsmall.com/about-1">elite consumer spaces</a> and <a href="https://techeconomy.ng/2022/03/microsoft-adc-new-office-commissioned-in-lagos-pantami-insists-nigeria-is-africas-investment-gateway/">service sector businesses</a>. Nigeria’s efforts to improve its business environment is shown by its increased ranking to 131st in 2019 in the world, from 169th in 2017, on the <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/688761571934946384/pdf/Doing-Business-2020-Comparing-Business-Regulation-in-190-Economies.pdf">Doing Business Index</a>.</p>
<p>In June 2021, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nigeria-buhari-youth-jobs-pandemic-b1863298.html">told youth to “behave” for the country to attract investors</a>. Given that youth unemployment is considered a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ft-nigeria-election-youth-unemployment-draws-global-nevin-phd">“ticking timebomb” in Nigeria</a>, it makes sense that Buhari is concerned about job creation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man speaking from behind a podium" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456681/original/file-20220406-20-g0tty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In June 2021, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari told youth to ‘behave’ if they wanted to attract investors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, to what extent is Buhari concerned about the livelihoods of youths who are eventually employed as a result of these investor opportunities? It is imperative to focus on the nature and consequences of emerging employment opportunities.</p>
<h2>Is entrepreneurialism the answer?</h2>
<p>Research on African youth unemployment has increasingly focused on <a href="https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190930028.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190930028-e-38">precarity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.12808">uncertainties about the future</a>. There has been emphasis on encouraging innovation and <a href="https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/decentwork/publications/gettingbyreport.pdf">transforming youth from job seekers to job creators and employers</a>, thus shifting responsibility for creating employment to the youth themselves. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-016-0006-y">entrepreneurialism has been questioned as a cure-all</a>, as it does not adequately address structural issues and youth aspiration. There is what some scholars have called an “imagination gap” between the employment futures that policy-makers imagine for young people, and those that young people imagine for themselves.</p>
<p>In light of these concerns, increased scholarly attention has been paid to researching the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8">United Nations policy commitment to full and productive employment and decent work for all</a> from a youth-centred perspective. So far there is <a href="https://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/decentwork/publications/gettingbyreport.pdf">limited research on young people’s perspectives and experiences</a> of work and visions for change. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in an apron writing on a notepad" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456968/original/file-20220407-12-egu53b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">So far there has been little research done on young people’s perspectives and experiences of work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Given deliberate efforts to increase stable wage employment, little is known about the extent to which these forms of employment are considered and experienced as “decent” by youth, and the effect of work on their psychosocial well-being.</p>
<h2>Nigerian labour laws</h2>
<p>On paper, Nigeria has a relatively strong labour act <a href="https://twitter.com/dreya_el/status/1506015481148297216">that some have argued favours the employee</a>. But the labour law is <a href="https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-employment-law-review/nigeria">murky on the duration of the work day</a>, and the <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/507087-nigerias-minimum-wage-grossly-inadequate-cant-meet-basic-nutritional-needs-of-an-adult-report.html">minimum wage is far from being a living wage</a>. Nigerian labour law is also largely silent on issues of workplace harassment.</p>
<p>It is no secret that many <a href="https://www.idosi.org/wasj/wasj36(1)18/7.pdf">employers are often in gross violation of Nigeria labour laws</a>. Employers are rarely sued for violations of the labour act because most people simply can’t afford to take legal action. There are also many government officials who own private businesses, <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">meaning they rarely face penalties</a>.</p>
<p>More so, some youth have told me that there’s very little that they can do because they fear backlash and being blacklisted as an insubordinate worker, thereby risking any future job prospects. </p>
<p>And so, they endure, placated by imaginations about future upward social mobility, no matter how rare they might be. These imaginations help youths develop coping strategies to survive their toxic work environments.</p>
<h2>#HorribleBosses</h2>
<p>On March 21, 2022, journalist Damilare Dosunmu wrote an exposé about <a href="https://techcabal.com/2022/03/21/tyranny-in-the-workplace-the-chaotic-culture-of-bento-africa/">workers’ experiences with alleged tyranny</a> at <a href="https://www.bento.africa/">Bento Africa</a>, a startup company. The article details allegations against the workplace, including employees being forced to work non-stop, verbal abuse, threats of job termination and abrupt termination. </p>
<p>This form of toxic work culture was further corroborated the next day on Twitter using the hashtags <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%23horriblebosses&src=typeahead_click&f=top">#HorribleBosses</a> and <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/ToxicWorkplaces?src=hashtag_click">#ToxicWorkplaces</a>. <a href="https://thewhistler.ng/horrible-bosses-employees-tear-into-nigerian-tech-founders-lament-toxic-work-conditions/amp/">Thousands of tweets highlighted stories of emotional and physical abuse </a> and inveighed against appalling working conditions.</p>
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<p>On March 23, a well-known Nigerian comedian, Mr. Macaroni, brilliantly captured this trending issue in “Oga and His New Driver.” In this skit, the employer tells his new employee that he doesn’t like lazy people who are paid and yet “run online and … say their employer is toxic.” </p>
<p>The employer also provides a long, ridiculous (and arguably impossible) list of tasks that should be accomplished in one day. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A skit by Nigerian comic Debo Adedayo, known by his stage name Mr. Macaroni.</span></figcaption>
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<p>After the employer is finished listing the job expectation and the work hours (3 a.m. to 11 p.m.), the employee hands him a knife and says, “<em>Kuku</em> kill me sir.” </p>
<p>Clearly, youth are not actually asking their employers to kill them in real life, but they are increasingly resisting and expressing that employers are <em>killing</em> them. Will President Buhari have the audacity to tell businesses and employers to “behave” for the sake of youth well-being? Or will he continue to let them be exploited?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Nigerian youth have increasingly been resisting and expressing their dissatisfaction with toxic workplaces.Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, Assistant Professor, Departments of Geography & Planning, Gender Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1756182022-01-26T19:07:38Z2022-01-26T19:07:38ZAn unemployment rate below 4% is possible. But for how long?<p>It would be nice to think Australia’s low unemployment rate – now 4.2%, the lowest since August 2008 – is here to stay.</p>
<p>We’ve been waiting a long time to see this. In the decade before the onset of COVID-19 the jobless rate hardly moved. In March 2010 it was 5.4%. Ten years later, in March 2020, it was 5.3%. In between the lowest the rate was to 4.9% - and then just for two months. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing Australia's unemployment rate from December 2011 to December 2021." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442446/original/file-20220125-23-vbh20m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>In 2021 the unemployment rate was under 5% in six out of 12 months.</p>
<p>A lower rate of unemployment makes us all better off. It means more of the nation’s productive resources are being put to work, and higher living standards for those extra people employed and their families.</p>
<p>Even with the effects of Omicron, there are good reasons to think the rate will fall further in 2022. </p>
<p>The bigger question is whether whatever lower rate we achieve can be sustained once all the effects of the pandemic are behind us. This will depend largely on how macroeconomic policy makers handle the transition. </p>
<h2>High job vacancies</h2>
<p>One reason to expect the rate to go lower in 2022 is recent employment growth – 365,000 in November, and 65,000 in December. With that pace of growth it’s likely there’s more to come, especially given the high level of job vacancies. </p>
<p>Had the vacancy rate at the end of 2021 been the same as before COVID-19, an extra 158,000 jobs would have been filled. Just half of those jobs going to the unemployed would have seen the December unemployment rate drop to 3.6%. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-record-job-vacancies-but-dont-expect-higher-wages-172146">Australia has record job vacancies, but don't expect higher wages</a>
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<p>Uncertainties make it difficult to predict exactly how much lower the jobless rate could go, or for how long. That will depend on macroeconomic policy – the reason the unemployment rate is where it is now.</p>
<h2>Government action has been crucial</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I0R68BHr9ozS8doqtqi53yuM4YArEgGp/view?usp=sharing">big reason</a> the unemployment rate has fallen is due to growth in the proportion of the population who are employed accelerating since mid-2021.</p>
<p>When you think about what changed in 2021 to make this happen, government policy has to be the main explanation.</p>
<p>Government spending on COVID-related programs has added considerably to gross domestic product, increasing employment. </p>
<p>Closed borders may also have added to GDP – by as much as 1.25% per annum, according to economist Saul Eslake – due to Australians redirecting spending from international travel to domestic consumption.</p>
<p>What follows is that a low rate of unemployment will depend on the policy makers being willing to continue to provide stimulus to economic activity.</p>
<h2>An opposing force</h2>
<p>One headwind blowing the unemployment rate higher may be faster growth in the labour-force participation rate, which measures the proportion of the population who want to work. </p>
<p>Before COVID-19 the participation rate had been increasing rapidly. With COVID-19 it slowed, due to reasons such as parents having to withdraw from the labour force to care for children.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="ABS labour force participatin rate, December 2021." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442448/original/file-20220125-13-p9rn2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Should growth in the labour-force participation rate return to its previous pace once the impact of COVID-19 recedes, the rate of unemployment will be pushed back up.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-4-5-during-lockdowns-the-unemployment-rate-is-now-meaningless-167805">Just 4.5% during lockdowns? The unemployment rate is now meaningless</a>
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<h2>Statistics for young workers</h2>
<p>Issues to do with measurement may also be temporarily making the rate of unemployment artificially low. </p>
<p>The strongest employment growth from March 2020 to December 2021 was for those aged 15 to 24 years. </p>
<p>Younger workers were hardest hit during the 2020 downturns associated with COVID-19. But by December 2021 the proportion of young people employed was 3.5 percentage points higher than in March 2020. This compares with the employment rate being 1.2 percentage points higher than before the pandemic for those aged 25-64 years, and 0.9 percentage points higher for those 65 years and older. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Percentage change in proportion of people employed, by age, since March 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442655/original/file-20220126-19-wilsxv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The strength of employment growth for the young – given all we know about the increasing difficulties they faced in the labour market in the 2010s – is surprising.</p>
<p>My guess is it may in part be due to young Australian permanent residents taking over jobs previously held by international students and working holiday makers, and being more likely to be captured in official surveys. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-economy-cant-guarantee-a-job-it-can-guarantee-a-liveable-income-for-other-work-153444">The economy can't guarantee a job. It can guarantee a liveable income for other work</a>
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<p>In that case, total employment of the young may not actually have changed by much, but the statistics show it increasing because of who is doing the work.</p>
<p>Before COVID-19 we could reasonably have expected the rate of unemployment today to be 5%. Instead, we’re at 4.2% and looking ahead in 2022 to further falls in unemployment. What lies beyond that is less certain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Borland receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a Board member of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.</span></em></p>There is enough momentum for Australia’s unemployment rate to go lower than 4.2% in 2022. Keeping it low is another matter.Jeff Borland, Professor of Economics, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1592882021-05-04T14:16:02Z2021-05-04T14:16:02ZHow COVID-19 is likely to slow down a decade of youth development in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398392/original/file-20210503-15-cv964h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unemployed Liberian young men seeking daily jobs at the industrial district of Bushrod Island, Monrovia, Liberia.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Ahmed Jallanzo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>World Youth SkillsUntil COVID-19 hit, the quality of life of youth (age 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa had been steadily improving. According to the <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">World Bank</a>, by 2019 the youth literacy rate stood at 73%. Gross secondary school enrolment rates increased from 13 % in 1971 to 43 % by 2018. Youth unemployment rates have remained fairly stable, at around 9%, even below the world average of 13.6%.</p>
<p>Across sub-Saharan Africa, extreme poverty among young workers declined from 60% in 1999 to 42% in 2019. Moreover, the youth literacy <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.FM.ZS">gender parity index</a>, measuring the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write, has improved significantly, reaching 93% in 2019. And for this first time, the unemployment rate of young women are similar to that of young men (9.4%). </p>
<p>As an economist interested in entrepreneurship and technological innovation, I recently contributed to UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/world-youth-report/wyr2020.html">2020 World Youth Report</a>. In particular, chapter 4 of the report concerns how the youth can leverage new digital technologies for social entrepreneurship to advance sustainable development. Though written before the COVID-19 pandemic, the message may have become even more urgent. This, because COVID-19 may slow down or even reverse the positive trends in youth development noted. </p>
<p>There are fears that the pandemic will result in a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_745963.pdf">lockdown generation</a>, characterised by structurally higher youth poverty and unemployment.</p>
<p>Lockdowns, by slowing down the spread of the disease, generate <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/staff-reports/health-versus-wealth-on-the-distributional-effects-of-controlling-a-pandemic">benefits</a> that “accrue disproportionately to older households”. But, the <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/staff-reports/health-versus-wealth-on-the-distributional-effects-of-controlling-a-pandemic">costs</a> of reduced economic activity are disproportionately born by younger households. They bear the “brunt of lower employment”.</p>
<h2>Reinforcing inequalities</h2>
<p>Younger people, especially young women, are more intensively employed in sectors such as hospitality and entertainment. About 80% of youth jobs in sub-Saharan Africa are in the <a href="https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2014/01/africas-youth-employment-challenge-addressed-by-new-un-report/">informal sector</a>. These sectors – hospitality, entertainment and informal - have been among the worst affected.</p>
<p>Lockdowns also interrupt schooling and education. In one <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/publication/simulating-potential-impacts-of-covid-19-school-closures-learning-outcomes-a-set-of-global-estimates">calculation</a>, this could generate global future “learning losses with a present value of $10 trillion”.</p>
<p>The closure of schools will reinforce social and economic inequalities and exclusion. Youth from more well-off households may be less affected, for instance in having access to private internet and laptops. </p>
<p>While these impacts are troubling everywhere, in Africa they are magnified due to the high rate (21%) of youths who were already not in employment, education or training before the pandemic struck. The <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8">8th sustainable development goal</a> requires of all countries that, by 2020, they substantially reduce this rate.</p>
<p>Given the complications introduced by the pandemic, how can this development goal be best achieved?</p>
<h2>Youth entrepreneurship</h2>
<p>With formal employment growth sluggish at the best, countries are pinning their hopes on <a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/startups-boom-united-states-during-covid-19">entrepreneurship</a>. But, entrepreneurship support policy remains a notoriously <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-016-9712-2">complex</a> topic. This is especially true when it comes to young people. </p>
<p>Younger entrepreneurs are on average more likely to fail, and older entrepreneurs’ firms on average perform <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20180582">better</a>. This is often due to market failures. Banks do not have information about the quality of younger entrepreneurs (who often lack collateral). In education, meanwhile, the market will under-supply in the absence of subsidies.</p>
<p>Where these market failures are prevalent, the youth may fail to obtain finance for their ventures or accumulate enough skills. Supporting youth entrepreneurship would, therefore, require not policies to focus exclusively on entrepreneurship <em>per se</em>, but to fix market failures elsewhere in the system. </p>
<p>The benefits of catalysing youth entrepreneurship could be huge in Africa. With the world’s <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-2013/africa%E2%80%99s-youth-%22ticking-time-bomb%22-or-opportunity">youngest</a> population at a time of unprecedented innovations in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Platform-Crowd-Harnessing-Digital/dp/1543615791">digital technologies</a> across the world, the African continent has a unique opportunity. It has two key advantages: digital savvy and a willingness to take risks. </p>
<p>Young people may have a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_737648.pdf">comparative</a> advantage in adopting and using new digital technologies. Moreover, many African countries have not only <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/francoisbotha/2019/04/02/why-africa-has-the-ability-to-leapfrog-the-rest-of-the-world-with-innovation/?sh=4b9e470a5ece">leapfrogged</a> in the adoption of mobile communication tech, but have been experiencing an <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-countries-cant-industrialise-yes-they-can-125516">upsurge</a> in tech entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>There is a deep underlying entrepreneurial reservoir in Africa. As much as 80% of youth labour market participation is in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919216303876">household enterprises</a> or as self-employed activities; only 20% in standard wage employment. </p>
<h2>Digital entrepreneurial ecosystems</h2>
<p>Youthfulness itself should not be a serious liability for entrepreneurship anymore. </p>
<p>Given the scarcity of resources on the continent, turning potential into reality and best addressing the market failures mentioned will require countries to prioritise investment in, and regulation of, their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-017-9867-5">digital entrepreneurial ecosystems</a>. </p>
<p>It will require redoubling efforts to expand access to new digital technology and infrastructure, including the data needed on which to build new products and services. It will also require investing in information and communications technology skills – fixing market failures in provision of public goods and education. </p>
<p>Increasing digital absorption in this way will pay good dividends. As I argued in chapter 4 of the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/world-youth-report/wyr2020.html">2020 World Youth Report</a>: consider for instance, that countries that do better to absorb digital technologies also tend to have a lower share of youths not in employment, education or training.</p>
<p>The direction of causality between digital adoption and utilisation of the youth is likely bi-directional. Better adoption of digital technologies is likely to engage the youth in either learning, education or employment. Better engagement of the youth is likely to lead to faster adoption of digital technologies – propelling a virtuous cycle. </p>
<p>With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to halt a decade of progress in youth development in Africa, at a minimum a three-pronged approach is now urgent. This entails bridging the digital divide; investing more in youth education in information and communications technology and science, engineering and mathematics fields. It also requires building digital entrepreneurial ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wim Naudé does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since 1999, extreme poverty has declined while rates of young people in education and employment have risen. Without investment though, the impact of the pandemic could see this progress imperilled,Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1462582020-10-08T14:46:15Z2020-10-08T14:46:15ZManagers must listen to workers of all ages on COVID-19 safety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361218/original/file-20201001-22-108vkfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C95%2C4246%2C2669&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A lifeguard disinfects mattresses used to slide down a water slide in Bromont, Que., in June 2020 as water parks reopened in the province. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The workplace is full of psychological hazards, including abusive supervisors and mistreatment from customers. But there are also physical hazards like falls from heights, working with faulty equipment and exposure to harsh environments — all outlined in <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-86-304/index.html">Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations</a>.</p>
<p>COVID-19, however, is both a psychological and physical hazard in the workplace. It’s different than other hazards. It is not visible. It is unpredictable. The same advice from the 1918 influenza still applies — <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-similarities-and-differences-covid-19-and-influenza?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1Z796ejr6wIV6xatBh0eMwoPEAAYASAAEgINq_D_BwE">maintain physical distancing, wear a mask and wash your hands</a>.</p>
<p>Young workers, usually defined as those between 15 and 24 years old, are particularly vulnerable during COVID-19 because they often work in front-line jobs in bars, restaurants and stores. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajim.20185">They also face more workplace hazards compared to the adult working population.</a> </p>
<p>The good news is that many of the recommendations to keep young workers safe will also help to protect other workers.</p>
<h2>Young workers: Not ‘real’ employees?</h2>
<p>Young workers don’t typically work full time. Many are seasonal or after-school employees. They are temporary and mobile. As a result, they are often not considered “real” employees by their employers. </p>
<p>Full-time, year-round employees, hopefully, get workplace safety training, but young workers may not. And with only a few months spent on a summer job, 15-year-olds may not know how to respond to a hazardous workplace situation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grocery store cashier, wearing a mask and gloves, works behind a Plexiglas barrier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361220/original/file-20201001-15-1fe38i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Plexiglas barrier protects a cashier at a grocery store in North Vancouver, B.C., in March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/students-summer-jobs-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-1.5558824">Teens had limited employment this past summer</a> with employers slowing down production or services during the first wave of the pandemic. These constraints may have affected the risks young workers were willing to take to have some paid employment amid all the furloughing and layoffs. </p>
<p>Young workers may not assess the risks of COVID-19 properly, not because they are young and impulsive, but because they have no previous experience in dealing with a threat of this kind, particularly in the workplace. </p>
<p>One of the misconceptions about teenagers is that they are reckless or they feel like they’re invincible. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0038088">That is not necessarily true</a>. Adolescents certainly take more risks in many domains such as driving, unsafe sex and substance use. But like many adult workers, very few young workers have worked during a pandemic.</p>
<h2>Young workers don’t speak up very much</h2>
<p>When faced with declining safety conditions, there are several courses of action that young workers consider. Over the last decade, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.08.006">Sean Tucker at the University of Regina has led research on this very issue:</a> </p>
<p><strong>Exit</strong> — They leave the job or situation when they feel the work is unsafe.</p>
<p><strong>Voice</strong> — They speak up and make suggestions about how to improve workplace safety.</p>
<p><strong>Loyalty</strong> — They choose to follow the instructions or examples of supervisors/co-workers without questioning.</p>
<p><strong>Patience</strong> — Knowing the workplace is hazardous, they choose to be silent with the hope of not being injured, and sometimes find ways to keep themselves safe at work.</p>
<p><strong>Neglect</strong> — They actively ignore safety concerns in spite of personal risks.</p>
<p>Even when there are declining safety conditions in a workplace, young workers don’t speak up very much. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2013.01.006">Safety threats have to be pretty serious for them to actually complain or even exit</a>. </p>
<h2>Encouraging safety</h2>
<p>The factors encouraging young workers to speak up about safety are the same things that would encourage all of us to speak up.</p>
<p>Young workers with ideas about how to make their workplaces safer were more inclined to speak up, and three months later they reported fewer injuries, our <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-34862-001">research found</a>. </p>
<p>Having a supervisor who listened and was open to suggestions about safety helped encourage young employees to share their ideas. This happened more often when young workers were more committed to their organization. </p>
<p>We know employers can select, train and encourage supervisors to create a culture of safety, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842">we have decades of research that shows what generates organizational commitment</a>.</p>
<p>Here are some key factors that will encourage young workers to speak up about safety:</p>
<p><strong>Supervisors need to be open and transparent about their commitment to safety</strong>. Safety meetings and supervisors wearing personal protective equipment are examples of safety commitment.</p>
<p><strong>Supervisors need to illustrate that they care about employees</strong>. Informal check-ins, emphasizing the importance of safety rules, and relating personally to the challenges of keeping a workplace safe show that supervisors care.</p>
<p><strong>Supervisors need to be open to hearing ideas</strong>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2013.10.011">Employees need to feel psychologically safe to speak up about physical safety</a>. When supervisors send unclear signals about safety, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.105372">our research showed that older workers</a> in particular stopped speaking up about their concerns. These same unclear cues did not affect young workers to the same degree, perhaps because their lack of life experience made them less attuned to interpersonal cues about whether their supervisors cared about their concerns.</p>
<p>During COVID-19, demonstrating a commitment to safety and employee well-being can save lives of all ages. Fortunately there are simple ways that supervisors and organizations can help to ensure their employees stay safe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146258/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Turner has previously received funding from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba to study young workers and safety.</span></em></p>Clear and consistent safety messaging in workplaces is imperative for employees both young and old.Nick Turner, Professor of Organizational Behaviour & Distinguished Research Chair in Advanced Leadership, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1411342020-08-13T20:09:18Z2020-08-13T20:09:18ZA 3-decade ‘moving picture’ of young Australians’ study, work and life, thanks to LSAY<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350985/original/file-20200804-22-1reruft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C56%2C6253%2C4638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-using-laptops-library-143880715">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (<a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/">LSAY</a>) unpack the lives of young Australians as they leave school, enter further study or the workforce and make the transition into adulthood. </p>
<p>The latest findings are now available for the group of young people who completed their first questionnaire back in 2009 at age 15. This group’s <a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/data/access">11th and final survey</a> shows young people are completing university at higher rates than ever before, while participation in apprenticeships and traineeships is taking a dive.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-young-people-who-do-vet-after-school-are-in-full-time-work-by-the-age-of-25-133060">Most young people who do VET after school are in full-time work by the age of 25</a>
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<p>The information collected from these groups of students, or “cohorts”, is used to better understand what helps or hinders this transition. This includes things like the effect of schools on year 12 completion, whether government benefits like <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/youth-allowance">Youth Allowance</a> help students complete their studies, and the factors that help a young person find full-time work sooner. </p>
<p>Each cohort starts with about 14,000 students in the first survey, or “wave”. From the age of 15 to 25, they complete a 20-minute survey once a year to share what’s been happening in their lives. LSAY asks about their experiences at school, their post-school study and work, as well as their health and home life. </p>
<p>Six cohorts have taken part so far. The recent release of findings from the fifth cohort’s final survey is a milestone, with LSAY <a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/data/access">data now available across three decades</a>. This means we can study generational changes in transition patterns.</p>
<p>To capture the many changing events or factors that affect young peoples’ transition, the survey has added questions about caring responsibilities, volunteering activities, participation in the gig economy, their personality traits and whether they have access to social support. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-own-low-expectations-can-reinforce-their-disadvantage-23501">Students' own low expectations can reinforce their disadvantage</a>
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<h2>Data dating back to the ’70s</h2>
<p>LSAY is one of Australia’s biggest and longest-running panel surveys. More than 60,000 young people have been surveyed since 1995. It’s recognised as one of eight <a href="https://thesource.dss.gov.au/final-report-review-of-australias-longitudinal-data-system">core longitudinal data assets in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>The surveys grew out of the Youth in Transition (<a href="https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataverse/yit">YIT</a>) studies in the 1970s.
The decade’s <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt207g7cv.4?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">oil price shocks</a> caused unemployment to soar, with young people hit the hardest. This created a need to better understand their school-to-work transition in the face of global technological and economic change. </p>
<p>Then came the Australian Longitudinal Surveys (<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/bp/1990/90bp21.pdf">ALS</a>) and Australian Youth Surveys (<a href="https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataverse/australian-youth-survey?q=&types=dataverses%3Adatasets&page=1&sort=nameSort&order=asc">AYS</a>) in the 1980s. One of the more prominent pieces of research using these data found the aptitude of new teachers fell substantially as teacher pay declined compared to other salaries.</p>
<p>These three longitudinal studies were combined to create the LSAY program. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-have-a-low-atar-you-could-earn-more-doing-a-vet-course-than-a-uni-degree-if-youre-a-man-121624">If you have a low ATAR, you could earn more doing a VET course than a uni degree – if you're a man</a>
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<h2>Researchers mine LSAY for insights</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/research">300 published research papers</a> have used LSAY data. The report <a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/publications/search-for-lsay-publications/25-years-of-lsay-research-from-the-longitudinal-surveys-of-australian-youth">25 years of LSAY: Research from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth</a> showcases some of the highlights.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="McDonald's worker hands over order at a drive-through counter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350998/original/file-20200804-18-18hi7ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">LSAY shows working a few hours a week while at school helps get a full-time job later.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>LSAY research has shown working just a few hours a week while at school <a href="https://www.lsay.edu.au/publications/search-for-lsay-publications/2398">improves prospects of getting a full-time job</a>. But working long hours has a slightly negative effect on school completion. The research also found females are better at balancing school and work than their male peers. </p>
<p>Research has also shown that students participating in school-based vocational education and training (VET) had <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/publications/research-insights/search/result?paper=3194369">higher rates of school completion</a>, full-time employment and incomes in their first year after school than non-VET students with similar characteristics. Ex-VET students were also more likely to be in a job they liked as a career. These benefits were associated with school-based VET programs with a workplace learning component.</p>
<p>The Productivity Commission used LSAY data to <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/university-report-card">investigate the demand-driven university system</a>. Many disadvantaged students successfully attended university as a result of the expansion of the system. However, those with lower literacy and numeracy were more likely to drop out. The study recognised schools and universities need to do more to prepare and support students, and that university might not always be the best option. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-students-are-going-to-university-than-before-but-those-at-risk-of-dropping-out-need-more-help-118764">More students are going to university than before, but those at risk of dropping out need more help</a>
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<p>LSAY has been an important source of evidence for policy. National reviews and inquiries informed by LSAY data include the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/national-partnership-youth-attainment-and-transitions-second-interim-evaluation-report">COAG Reform Council’s reporting on youth transitions</a> (2009), the <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A32134">Bradley Review of Higher Education</a> (2008) and the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=edt/schoolandwork/report.htm">House of Representatives inquiry into combining school and work</a> (2008-2009).</p>
<p>The recent Education Council <a href="https://www.pathwaysreview.edu.au/">Review of Senior Secondary Pathways</a>, released in July, draws heavily on LSAY to establish how students can choose the best pathway for their transition from school. </p>
<p>LSAY has a high degree of comparability with international youth surveys. These include the Transition from Education to Employment (<a href="https://www.tree.unibe.ch/index_eng.html">TREE</a>) study in Switzerland, the Youth in Transition Survey (<a href="https://open.canada.ca/en/suggested-datasets/youth-transition-survey">YITS</a>) in Canada, the Education Longitudinal Study (<a href="https://nces.ed.gov/statprog/handbook/els2002.asp">ELS</a>) and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (<a href="https://www.nlsinfo.org/content/cohorts/nlsy79">NLSY</a>) in the United States, and <a href="https://esrc.ukri.org/research/our-research/next-steps-formerly-longitudinal-study-of-young-people-lsype/">Next Steps</a> in the UK. </p>
<p>Most of these have a starting sample of about 9,000 individuals. Next Steps has 16,000. LSAY’s starting sample of 14,000 young Australians makes it one of the largest surveys of its kind in the world. </p>
<h2>Tracking lives through the GFC and COVID-19</h2>
<p>These datasets enable us to transform a snapshot of a person’s life into a moving picture. Compared with cross-sectional studies, these longitudinal datasets provide a much clearer picture by accounting for personalities, life events and pathways. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four fingers representing people with different personalities" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352616/original/file-20200812-16-1ovbxt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The longitudinal dataset helps account for different personalities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/finger-art-concept-group-people-different-324484541">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Combining a longitudinal study with cohort studies sheds more light on this picture by controlling for inter-generational differences, or crises such as wars, financial downturns or natural disasters. </p>
<p>For example, using data from four LSAY cohorts, <a href="https://content.apa.org/fulltext/2016-06225-001.html">one study</a> found the well-being of those whose transitions occurred during the global financial crisis (<a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/the-global-financial-crisis.html">GFC</a>) was much worse on several measures, including standard of living, home life, career prospects, social life and independence. </p>
<p>The extraordinary challenges Australian youth face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will be documented when the sixth LSAY cohort, now aged 20, complete their sixth survey in 2020 and further surveys in the years thereafter. </p>
<p>By providing a valuable resource to explore the longer-term effects of this crisis, LSAY continues to stand the test of time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141134/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Somayeh Parvazian works for National Center for Vocational Education Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronnie Semo works for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.</span></em></p>LSAY is one of the biggest and oldest surveys of its kind in the world. It follows young Australians from the age of 15 to 25 to find out what helps and hinders them along the way.Somayeh Parvazian, Survey Methodologist, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)Ronnie Semo, Senior Research Officer, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1435492020-07-29T19:57:31Z2020-07-29T19:57:31ZWhy young people are earning less<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350143/original/file-20200729-25-1s7ukzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=469%2C196%2C3265%2C1551&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>That COVID is hurting young workers more than older ones is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-next-employment-challenge-from-coronavirus-how-to-help-the-young-135676">widely recognised</a>.</p>
<p>What’s less well known is that even before COVID-19, in the decade leading up to it, incomes for young people (aged 15 to 34) were falling in real terms while incomes for others continued to climb.</p>
<p>A graph that was created by the Productivity Commission for this morning’s report, <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/youth-income-decline">Why did young people’s incomes decline</a>? tells the story.</p>
<p>The report follows Monday’s report on declining <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-really-is-different-for-young-people-its-harder-to-climb-the-jobs-ladder-143347">job mobility</a> for young people.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350113/original/file-20200729-21-e1xs1z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In real terms; adjusted by the consumer price index.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/youth-income-decline">Commission estimates based on HILDA data</a></span>
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<p>Disposable incomes are incomes after tax. The graph shows that in the years immediately after the Melbourne Institute’s HILDA Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey began asking the question, the real incomes of young Australians climbed in line with those of older Australians.</p>
<p>In the decade since 2008 they’ve gone backwards. Jennifer Rayner’s book <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/generation-less">Generation Less</a> noted that the living standards of young and old were beginning to pull apart in ways that would strain common bonds. </p>
<p>Last year’s <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/generation-gap/">Grattan Institute</a> report said today’s young were in danger of being the first generation in memory to have lower living standards than their parents.</p>
<p>Where the Productivity Commission study substantially advances our understanding is by presenting a detailed analysis of why incomes of the young have declined.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-really-is-different-for-young-people-its-harder-to-climb-the-jobs-ladder-143347">It really is different for young people: it's harder to climb the jobs ladder</a>
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<p>It finds that young people’s real incomes have fallen since the global financial crisis mainly because they have fared worse in the job market.</p>
<p>Income can come from three sources – labour income, transfer income (government payments), and other income (which includes payments from non-resident parents and investment and business income). </p>
<p>The report finds that about three-quarters of the fall in real incomes of the young has been due to a decrease in their labour incomes (with the rest being due to a fall in other incomes).</p>
<h2>Lower wage jobs, lower hours</h2>
<p>The decline in labour income for the young is a result of both slower growth in hourly wages and of them working fewer hours. Hours of work have decreased as the young have shifted away from full-time towards part-time work. </p>
<p>With this shift has been a move to working for smaller firms, where wages are typically lower.</p>
<p>The next big question is what has caused the decline in labour incomes for the young.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350139/original/file-20200729-29-9rtvx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/youth-income-decline">Why did young people's incomes decline? </a></span>
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<p>Here, the Productivity Commission comes to the conclusion that it’s all about demand and supply. </p>
<p>Earlier work by Reserve Bank economists <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2018/jun/labour-market-outcomes-for-younger-people.html">Natasha Cassidy and Zhoya Dhillion</a> and my own work <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HW_6fwNxfP3VvRcol83t9A14SzciuiCA/view">with Michael Coelli</a> arrived at the same conclusion.</p>
<p>Since the early 1990s the proportion of the population wanting to work (the so-called participation rate) has been climbing.</p>
<p>Before 2008 and the global financial crisis that increase was outpaced by growth in the number of available jobs. Following the crisis the pattern reversed.</p>
<p>That has been bad news for the young. With the number of people wanting to work increasing faster than the number of available jobs, something had to give. It happened to be young people starting out in the labour market. </p>
<p>They found themselves crowded out from work and from the type of jobs they wanted (including full-time jobs) and having to accept lower-paid ones, with what turned out to be a a lower likelihood of later moving to a better job. </p>
<h2>And less success at business</h2>
<p>If all you knew was that young people’s income from paid work had declined, you might not be too worried. With all the high-tech start-ups involving young people, they must surely be able to make up those losses by striking out on their own and earning profits and business income.</p>
<p>The quashing of that idea is to my way of thinking one of the important findings of the Productivity Commission report. </p>
<p>It shows shows a large decrease rather than an increase in business income for the young, at a time when the business income of older Australians continued to climb.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350135/original/file-20200729-25-vow0aq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/youth-income-decline">Commission estimates based on HILDA data</a></span>
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<p>The decrease happened both because after the global financial crisis young people were less likely to earn business income and because when they did it was more likely to come from low-paying industries. </p>
<p>Its a concerning finding for a nation pinning hopes on entrepreneurship, and an instance of where the report repays careful reading.</p>
<h2>Lessons for COVID</h2>
<p>It might seem as if analysing events in the decade after the global financial crisis is akin to studying ancient history, with the new COVID-19 labour market telling us more about what’s happening. </p>
<p>Nothing could be further from the truth. </p>
<p>Because it is about what happens to young people in a weakened labour market, the Commission’s report is replete with lessons for today.</p>
<p>It provides new perspectives on how the young are adversely affected, it tells us about how income support can help, and offers insights into how to make entrepreneurship better.</p>
<p>And it establishes unambiguously the case for worrying about the young in the time of COVID-19, all the more so because of what has happened in the leadup to it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Borland was a referee for the Productivity Commission report, but has not received any payment for that role. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>It isn’t only because they are in worse jobs. it’s also because they are earning less from businesses.Jeff Borland, Professor of Economics, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1382652020-05-10T19:59:48Z2020-05-10T19:59:48ZLet’s “SnapBack” to better society with more secure jobs: Anthony Albanese<p>Anthony Albanese says Australia must use the pandemic experience to move to a more resilient society, creating more permanent jobs and revitalising high value manufacturing.</p>
<p>In his fifth “vision statement”, delivered against the background of the government foreshadowing an extensive post-crisis reform agenda, Albanese is giving a broad outline of Labor’s priorities for change.</p>
<p>The Monday speech, issued ahead of delivery, comes a day before parliament resumes for a three-day sitting expected to be more combative than the previous two one-day sittings. It also precedes Josh Frydenberg’s economic update on Tuesday - the day the treasurer was, pre-pandemic, due to deliver the budget, now delayed until October.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-the-delicate-art-of-political-distancing-during-the-pandemic-138127">Grattan on Friday: The delicate art of political distancing during the pandemic</a>
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<p>Referring to the government’s “SnapBack” terminology, Albanese says: “Let’s not SnapBack to insecure work, to jobseekers stuck in poverty, to scientists being ignored.”</p>
<p>“It’s no time for a ‘SnapBack’ to the Liberal agenda of cutting services, suppressing wages and undermining job security.</p>
<p>"This pandemic has shown that Labor’s values of fairness and security and our belief in the power of government to shape change to the advantage of working people are the right ones.</p>
<p>"A constrained fiscal position does mean difficult choices. But a reform agenda that doesn’t work for all Australians isn’t one we should pursue”.</p>
<p>Albanese says Labor has been constructive during the crisis, not allowing “the perfect to be the enemy of the good”; he contrasts its approach with the Coalition’s negativity against the Labor government during the global financial crisis.</p>
<p>While Australians have been getting through the crisis together, it has been tougher for some than others, including those who have lost jobs and businesses, he says.</p>
<p>“Sharing the sacrifice to get through the crisis together has to mean working to secure a recovery in which no one is left behind.</p>
<p>"We have to be clear in recognising that those with the least, have suffered the most through this crisis – something that must change.</p>
<p>"It’s critical that we are still saying , ‘we’re all in this together’, after the lockdown has come to an end,” Albanese says.</p>
<p>“We must move forward to having not just survived the pandemic, but having learned from it.</p>
<p>"To secure a more resilient society, given just how quickly things can change, through no fault of anyone.</p>
<p>"To better recognise the contributions of unsung heroes, like our cleaners, supermarket workers and delivery workers. To honour our health and aged care workers.</p>
<p>"To recognise that young people have done more than their share.</p>
<p>"Young people deserve better than an economy and society that consigns them to a lifetime of low wages, job insecurity, and unaffordable housing.</p>
<p>"We must ensure that what emerges is a society that no longer seems stacked against them, or denies them the opportunity and economic security of older generations”.</p>
<p>Albanese says this is a once-in-a-political lifetime event that “creates once-in-a-century opportunity to renew and revitalise the federation” and “a once-in-a-generation chance to shape our economy so it works for people and deepens the meaning of a fair go”.</p>
<p>“We must build more permanent jobs, an industrial relations system that promotes co-operation, productivity improvements and shared benefits,” he says.</p>
<p>“We must revitalise high value Australian manufacturing using our clean energy resources.”</p>
<p>He also urges nation building infrastructure including high speed rail and the local construction of trains; a decentralisation strategy including restoring public service jobs in agencies such as Centrelink that deliver services to regional areas; a conservation program to boost regional employment; and governments working with the private sector and superannuation funds to deliver investment in social and affordable housing.</p>
<p>“A housing construction package should include funding to make it easier for essential workers to find affordable rental accommodation closer to work.”</p>
<p>Albanese says that “too much of the risk in our economy has been shifted onto those with the least capacity to manage in tougher times.</p>
<p>"The broadest burden has been put on the narrowest shoulders.</p>
<p>"Our economy has become riskier, and we need to think through what that means for us all.</p>
<p>"We need to realise that a good society can’t thrive when the balance between risk and security falls out of step.”</p>
<p>Albanese says there needs to be an emphasis on growth, “because only inclusive economic growth can raise our living standards.</p>
<p>"We need to put more emphasis on secure employment - especially for the next generation of younger workers who nowadays have little idea of the meaning of reliable income or holiday pay”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In his fifth “vision statement”, opposition leader Anthony Albanese outlines labor’s priorities for change and opportunity.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006252018-11-01T10:01:52Z2018-11-01T10:01:52ZHow parents’ resources shape their children’s attitudes to the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243226/original/file-20181031-76405-1t6ex3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thanks Dad. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/597265181?size=medium_jpg">Koldunov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone’s family background has affected them, for better or worse. In the UK today, it is difficult for young people to get a good job, and this means that families are having to provide more support for young people. In <a href="https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/role-family-social-mobility/">a recent survey</a> of 3,000 18- to 35-year-olds in the UK, my colleagues and I found that 38% of these young people still live with their parents, and 47% had “boomeranged” back into the family home after living independently.</p>
<p>While much research <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WTslDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA205&dq=Swartz,+T.T.+and+O%E2%80%99Brien,+K.B.+(2009)+%E2%80%98Intergenerational+support+during+the+transition+to+adulthood.%E2%80%99++%09in+A.+Furlong+(ed.),+Handbook+of+youth+and+young+adulthood:+New+perspectives+and+agendas,++%09Oxon:+Routledge+pp.217-225.&ots=Qtw-QWdNvF&sig=lKKoT9V9JVeNCjwTIZEvfgQM00w#v=onepage&q&f=false">shows</a> that family matters for the progression and success of younger generations, it’s less clear how it matters for their employment pathways and attitudes towards their future. This is a question our <a href="http://cupesse.eu/">ongoing research</a> is addressing, through a series of interviews with three generations of people across ten families in the northeast of England.</p>
<p>Our analysis is showing that there is both a difference between young people’s achievement of economic self-sufficiency, and their ambition to become self-sufficient – and that this depends on their family background and the behaviour of their parents. Based on these findings, we’ve divided the young people from our ten families into four different groups. </p>
<p>The first group are the “entrepreneurs” – 28-year-old Chris (all names have been changed to protect the anonymity of those interviewed) and 24-year-old Victoria, are the most economically independent from their parents. Both are self-employed, have moved out of the family home and started their own families. One is married, the other has a young daughter. They have both relied very little on their family to support them, primarily because there wasn’t much support available.</p>
<p>In contrast to the entrepreneurs are the “voluntary dependents”, Rosa and Philip, aged 20, and Andrew, aged 28. This group relies a lot on their parents, who with their middle-class background are able to support their children financially. They are primarily still in education and although career choice is an important issue in their lives, they focus more on creative working or avoiding boredom in their job, rather than a high salary.</p>
<p>The “gradual progressors” have achieved some economic independence from their parents. Two of them, John, 20, and Helen, 22, are employed, while Peter and Lucie, aged 20 and 26 respectively, work for their family’s business. However, they still rely on their parents for support. Whether that’s moving back into the family home, or help setting up a family business, the parents are willing and able to economically support their children.</p>
<p>The last group, the “ambitious”, are the opposite. Jack, aged 28, is unemployed, while Nick, aged 22, is at university. Neither of them have become economically independent of their parents, but they are the most ambitious to become so. While their families are also middle-class and able to support their children, young people such as Jack and Nick may accept some help but are determined to pay their parents back. They are very driven and strategic in their education and employment choices.</p>
<h2>The value of education</h2>
<p>All of the families we’re following value education, but for different reasons. In the “voluntary dependant” families, education has a value in and of itself. It’s the experience of going to university and learning new things that both the parents and children see as an asset to their character which enables a fulfilling career. Rosa, from the voluntary dependent group, told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d like to graduate. Yeah, that’s my main priority where I am. And then I don’t know, I want to … find a job that I actually want to do … that would be worth my time … but I don’t even know where to start thinking about it.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243228/original/file-20181031-76411-10imkk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Proud of you, kid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/195716369?src=joTXdAnCmDJAzFdHEQnsSA-1-4&size=medium_jpg">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These values had clearly been passed on from one generation to another. Rosa’s father told us:</p>
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<p>I think going to university is a good experience in itself and it also gives you opportunities, if you decide the opportunities aren’t … you don’t want them then that’s fine, but at least you’ve got them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In contrast, those young people from the “ambitious” group see education as a means to an end and closely linked to getting a job. Their parents have clearly passed on this attitude about education to their children. For example, Nick and his mother displayed a similar attitude regarding his educational choices, focusing on their utility rather than their intrinsic value.</p>
<h2>Transmission of capital</h2>
<p>All the parents in our study wanted to help their children with money, but their ability to do so varied. The parents of our young “entrepreneurs” had comparatively less money, and so less available to pass on. In the families of the “gradual progressors” and the “ambitious”, there was some money available but this wasn’t always passed on to children in cash. Instead, parents invited their children back to live in the family home or helped them by creating a position in the family business. </p>
<p>Those parents who can give their children extensive support are able to do so largely due to the extensive capital that they’ve been able to accumulate as a consequence of their upward social mobility. Our analysis also shows that parents pass on values, which equip their children for certain paths in life, such as further education or working in the family business. </p>
<p>What we see is an even stronger accumulation of capital and resources within certain families than had been shown by <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WTslDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA205&dq=Swartz,+T.T.+and+O%E2%80%99Brien,+K.B.+(2009)+%E2%80%98Intergenerational+support+during+the+transition+to+adulthood.%E2%80%99++%09in+A.+Furlong+(ed.),+Handbook+of+youth+and+young+adulthood:+New+perspectives+and+agendas,++%09Oxon:+Routledge+pp.217-225.&ots=Qtw-QWdNvF&sig=lKKoT9V9JVeNCjwTIZEvfgQM00w#v=onepage&q&f=false">previous research</a>. If the UK doesn’t address this issue, even greater inequalities may develop between the haves and the have nots.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The CUPESSE project that Emily Rainsford works on has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement n° 613257. She is also affiliated Youth Employment UK having done a secondment with them funded by ESRC NPIF ECR Secondment, 2018. Emily would like to acknowledge the assistance with analyzing the interviews and writing up the chapter this piece is based on from Dr Anna Wambach. </span></em></p>Values – and capital – are clearly passed down from one generation to the next.Emily Rainsford, Research Associate in Politics, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1003132018-07-30T10:33:20Z2018-07-30T10:33:20ZWhy fewer kids work the kind of summer jobs that their parents used to have<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228895/original/file-20180723-189338-9fivdy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The summer jobs of the days of old are becoming fewer and fewer.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pretty-teen-summer-job-442786513?src=8nWjyHHySmCvVZZDHis33w-1-1">Paulette Kaytor/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Back in the day, most teens had some sort of job lined up for the summer. For some, it was an extension of an after-school job they held during the year. For others, it was a seasonal type of job such as working at a drugstore or as a lifeguard in a pool. </p>
<p>Recently, however, that seems to be no longer the case. </p>
<p>While the presence of teenagers in the summer workforce in July 1978 was at 72 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey reported a July 2016 teen labor force participation rate of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/teen-labor-force-participation-before-and-after-the-great-recession.htm">43 percent</a>. A recent report by the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/02/the-share-of-teens-with-summer-jobs-has-plunged-since-2000-and-the-type-of-work-they-do-has-shifted/">Pew Research Center</a> analyzed the average summer employment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds in June, July and August 2017 and found that only 35 percent of teens has a summer job.</p>
<p>So, what has happened? Speaking as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C21&q=elliot+lasson&btnG=">scholar who studies generational workforce changes</a>, I can say that there isn’t just one answer but several.</p>
<h2>Are today’s teens lazier?</h2>
<p>A 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics white paper <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/teen-labor-force-participation-before-and-after-the-great-recession.htm">provides some reasons</a> that might account for the downward trend in teen employment, including increased summer school attendance, increased parental emphasis on education and competition from other demographic sectors.</p>
<p>One common stereotype is that <a href="http://www.sonima.com/fitness/fitness-articles/get-moving/">teens have become lazier</a>. In addition, it’s a ubiquitous observation that teens are tethered to technology and have higher obesity rates than in the past. Both of those contribute to the stereotype. However, 2016 data on “NEETs,” young people who are “Neither in Education, Employment, or Training,” put their number at just <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/disappearance-of-the-summer-job/529824/">7 percent</a>. The relatively stable and low NEET percentage runs contrary to the idea that today’s teens are lazier.</p>
<h2>The role of the gig economy</h2>
<p>One explanation is that it’s difficult to track employment in today’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/now-hiring-for-a-one-day-job-the-gig-economy-hits-retail/2018/05/04/2bebdd3c-4257-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3deb6748b6dd">gig economy</a>. For example, a teenager may be working building a website for her aunt’s small business and managing the Instagram account for 10 hours a week. Yet, she will fly below the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ radar and is not likely to be counted as employed.</p>
<p>A second explanation may be a function of changes in the national economy and workforce. For example there is the “Amazon effect.” While in the past, jobs selling T-shirts at the mall or boardwalk were quite common, more people are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/02/22/what-the-amazon-effect-means-for-retailers/#4e0e04f72ded">buying their “stuff” online</a>. As a result, retailers and small shops can likely get by with their <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/04/07/retail-jobs-amazon/">existing workforce</a>. So, those jobs are not in abundant supply.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Christopher L. Smith of the Federal Reserve has conducted research that found <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/662073?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">lesser-educated immigrants</a> are taking on jobs that were traditionally teen-occupied summer jobs. Interestingly, there is also <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/why-fewer-teens-working-summer-jobs.aspx">competition from older workers</a> who either remain in the workforce longer or are willing to take “bridge” jobs. In 2015, the percentage of participation in the labor force for those 55 and older was <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/teen-labor-force-participation-before-and-after-the-great-recession.htm">39 percent, compared to 34 percent</a> for those ages 16 to 19. </p>
<p>In some cases, more young people have been interested in nonpaying educational, experiential or social justice programs. Additionally, there is an ongoing interest in <a href="http://www.summerlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/STEM-in-Summer_keyline.pdf">“camps”</a> that combine focus on certain skills like <a href="https://www.idtech.com/">coding</a> and <a href="https://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/resources/summer_programs/writing.html">writing</a> with some physical activity.</p>
<h2>Higher education quests</h2>
<p>Other high schoolers may be taking summer courses to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/nyregion/taking-summer-school-to-get-ahead-not-catch-up.html">better position themselves for college</a>. This is likely more of a factor in middle- to upper-class families for whom a college-bound trajectory is more automatic, yet is perceived as highly competitive by <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/the-ethos-of-the-overinvolved-parent/527097/">helicopter parents</a> who are often hyper-involved in facilitating the college goal in <a href="https://www.unigo.com/admissions-advice/how-do-you-deal-with-overbearing-parents-during-the-college-process/113/1">high school</a> and as far back as day care.</p>
<p>In addition, there are now clearinghouses for travel opportunities and social justice missions which have become more popular among not only college students but also <a href="https://www.teensummerexpos.com/community-service/">high schoolers</a>. Having one or more of these on a college application is deemed by teens and parents to possibly be the necessary edge to get into an elite college. In fact, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-many-teens-no-longer-even-look-for-a-summer-job/">Andy Challenger</a>, vice president of Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, a national firm that follows workplace trends, parents are not exactly pushing their kids out the door. “Their parents aren’t forcing them to get a job,” Challenger said. “Parents are saying there are other things you can do over the summer that will create value for you – and you don’t have to go flip burgers.” </p>
<p>Finally, there are problems regarding how employers view young workers in general. According to a survey by the <a href="https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/are-college-graduates-career-ready/">National Association of Colleges and Employers</a>, 89.4 percent of recent graduates rated themselves as proficient in their work ethic and professionalism. Yet, only 42.5 percent of employers shared that view.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elliot Lasson is a member of the following professional associations: (1) The Chesapeake Human Resources Association; (2) the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology; and (3) the Society for Psychologists in Management.
</span></em></p>The number of young people who work traditional summer jobs has declined significantly in recent decades. A scholar who focuses on generational differences in the workforce explains why.Elliot Lasson, Professor of the Practice and Graduate Program Director, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/888452017-12-18T01:22:07Z2017-12-18T01:22:07ZWhy the Republican tax plan can help put American youths back to work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199530/original/file-20171216-17854-1y0hwye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">House Speaker Paul Ryan talks about the GOP tax plan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Republican lawmakers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/us/politics/republican-tax-bill.html?_r=0">are set to vote</a> this week on their tax plan after reconciling differences between the Senate and House versions and appear likely to meet their Christmas deadline of turning it into law.</p>
<p>During the ongoing debate over its merits, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/politics/calculate-americans-taxes-senate-reform-bill/index.html">many have focused</a> on the <a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/358542-winners-and-losers-in-the-gop-tax-bill">“winners” and “losers”</a> in terms of who will have to pay more or less in taxes. I believe that is the wrong question. </p>
<p>The one that Americans should be asking is whether the bill will improve labor market opportunities for workers, especially the nation’s youth, whose careers have suffered since the turn of the century. </p>
<p>Here’s why I believe it will.</p>
<h2>A tough recovery for U.S. youth</h2>
<p>For several decades, I <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm">have helped collect data</a> for the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ <a href="https://stats.bls.gov/nls/home.htm">National Longitudinal Surveys</a> on the careers of tens of thousands of workers as well as examining programs aimed at improving the school-to-work transition, especially for disadvantaged youths. </p>
<p>The Great Recession hit young people particularly hard. And they haven’t quite recovered. The share of youth aged 16 to 24 who were working dropped from 59 percent in 2006 to under 43 percent in 2010, the lowest level since at least 1949. Unfortunately, seven years later, this age group’s employment rate is still only about 50 percent. While that number may not seem low given young workers don’t have the same responsibilities as older ones, it’s still well below the norm for much of the 20th century. </p>
<p>Other age groups didn’t suffer nearly as much during the recession and have since recovered most of their losses. The employment rate for “prime-age” adults 25 to 54 years old didn’t decline as much, slipping from about 81 percent in 2006 to a low of under 75 percent in 2011. Currently it’s about 78 percent, better, yet not fully recovered either.</p>
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<p>This loss of opportunity for U.S. youth and their inability to find a job delays the start of their careers, reduces the <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/209960">strong wage growth young workers typically experience</a> in their early work years and postpones family formation. </p>
<p>The returns on <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/retirementpolicy/research/education-earnings.html">every year of work experience</a> increase workers’ wages for their entire careers – at <a href="https://eml.berkeley.edu/%7Ecle/wp/wp62.pdf">about the same rate</a> as a year of additional education – so young people who miss out on employment opportunities will feel these effects for the rest of their lives. </p>
<p>To my mind, solving this challenge of getting these young people back to work is the most important goal of tax policy. And the key to doing that is by encouraging companies to boost investment, thereby spurring more growth and creating more jobs.</p>
<h2>What we can learn from the past</h2>
<p>So back to our main question: Is the tax plan likely to accomplish this?</p>
<p>In my view, its ability to improve the economy lies in one of its most contentious features: the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/15/politics/republican-tax-bill/index.html">reduction in the top corporate income tax rate</a>, from 35 percent to 21 percent. </p>
<p>The current rate – <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/reports/52419-internationaltaxratecomp.pdf">among the highest in the world</a> – encourages owners of capital to move, or keep, money overseas to maximize their after-tax income. One example of this is the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-overseas-profits/">hundreds of billions of dollars</a> in profits U.S. companies have left parked offshore in recent years. Another is the recent trend in “<a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/first_quarter_2017/a-look-at-corporate-inversions-inside-and-out">corporate inversions</a>,” in which U.S. corporations purchase companies overseas to shift their tax liability. The result is less investment in the U.S. and a shift in economic activity overseas.</p>
<p>So what evidence is there that a lower corporate tax rate will actually encourage investment and lead to more jobs? </p>
<p>The support for this proposition comes from two sources: economic theory and the experience in both the U.S. and other countries at different times in history. In classical economic theory, a lower tax rate on capital reduces the cost of capital, making more investments profitable. An <a href="http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Managing_the_economy/Investment.html">uncontroversial implication</a> of this is higher national income, production and employment.</p>
<p>There are several historical examples that illustrate the impact of raising or lowering corporate taxes on investment and growth. </p>
<p>Starting in 1929, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/02corate.pdf">Congress gradually raised</a> the top corporate rate to 15 percent in 1936 from 11 percent in 1929. <a href="https://minneapolisfed.org/research/wp/wp670.pdf">Some have blamed</a> President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s late 1930s tax increase for <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2010/10/20/hoover-fdr-and-clinton-tax-increases-a-brief-historical-lesson/">stopping the recovery</a> and sending the <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/us-gdp-by-year-3305543">U.S. back into recession</a>.</p>
<p>While there was many factors at work at the time – including the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Smoot-Hawley-Tariff-Act">Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act</a> that raised duties on hundreds of imports and a <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/746.html">large decline in the money supply</a> – higher taxes and the attendant anti-business climate they created are plausible explanations for <a href="https://fee.org/articles/americas-depression-within-a-depression-193739/">why the Great Depression lasted as long as it did</a>.</p>
<p>A more recent example came in the late ‘80s, when Congress cut the top corporate rate from 46 percent in 1984 to 34 percent in 1992, in two installments. Following these changes investment as a share of GDP <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A006RE1Q156NBEA">grew strongly</a> beginning in the early '90s, as did <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A191RL1Q225SBEA">economic growth</a>. </p>
<h2>What we can learn from other countries</h2>
<p>Ireland, renowned for having a <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/ireland/corporate-tax-rate">low corporate income tax</a> of just 12.5 percent, also boasts the <a href="https://data.oecd.org/emp/employment-rate.htm">highest level of working-age employment</a> in the developed world, at just shy of 87 percent. The U.S., by contrast, is 16th with 70 percent of its working-age population employed.</p>
<p>Other countries at various points in their history, such as the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/09/26/britains-path-to-a-19-corporate-tax-rate/#144c3b2f772e">U.K. in the 1970s</a> and <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/economic-growth-corporate-tax-rate/">Canada in the past decade</a>, bolstered their economies at least in part by lowering corporate tax rates. </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is the international reaction to the tax plan. China, for example, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-develops-plan-to-counter-trump-tax-overhaul-1513012363">is sufficiently concerned</a> that lower U.S. corporate tax rates would be effective in luring business investment that its leaders are considering a range of new policies to prevent a loss of capital. Ireland <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/trump-s-us-tax-reform-a-significant-challenge-for-ireland-1.3310866">also sees the bill</a> as a potential challenge to its strength in luring investment, while Germany is <a href="https://global.handelsblatt.com/finance/joining-the-race-to-the-bottom-835641">contemplating</a> lower business taxes. </p>
<h2>Getting back to work</h2>
<p>While other economists may disagree, lighter taxation and less regulation have arguably generated more growth and prosperity than the opposite, whether we look at the U.S. over time or low-tax countries internationally. And that is what creates enough jobs to ensure young Americans can begin their careers promptly after finishing their education.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I was skeptical that the tax bill would pass. That’s because, in my view, all too often the political calculus focuses on whose tax bills will go up or down rather than what the nation needs to secure its long-term prosperity. I figured this would jeopardize the plan’s odds of success. </p>
<p>Our long-term prosperity depends on young people getting educated, finding jobs and accumulating the work experience needed to establish remunerative careers. While we are still some distance from a labor market that offers opportunities for disadvantaged and low-skill workers, I believe the tax bill offers the nation the best chance of restoring opportunity to those who need it most.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Randall Olsen receives funding from Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Department of Education and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.</span></em></p>Unlike other age groups, 16- to 24-year-olds haven’t recovered the job losses they suffered during the Great Recession. Spurring investment and growth are key to getting them back to work.Randall Olsen, Director of the Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/839322017-09-14T22:34:30Z2017-09-14T22:34:30ZPizza delivery by robot cars has arrived with big questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186069/original/file-20170914-9029-zd94o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ford and Dominos have teamed up to deliver pizza by driverless cars in a public test in Michigan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>People in Ann Arbor, Mich., are experiencing <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2017/08/29/dominos-ford-self-driving-cars-ann-arbor/597329001/">home food-delivery without a driver.</a> </p>
<p>Domino’s Pizza and Ford have paired up in a pilot project that will look at how humans interact with driverless food-delivery cars. Ann Arbor is home to thousands of students, an age group not likely to view this new technology with suspicion. But it could turn into a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ford-self-driving-pizza-delivery-dominos/">fascinating social experiment</a> for the food industry.</p>
<p>Customers ordering through Domino’s will be able to track their delivery in real time by using a downloadable app on their smartphones. They receive a text message that gives them a four-digit code to use once the car arrives. </p>
<p>But it’s the final portion of the drive that could prove unpredictable for Domino’s. The driverless delivery vehicle could end up in the driveway, or near the curb. Customers may not want to go out to the car if it’s raining or snowing. Domino’s USA president Russell Weiner says these challenges are a major part of the experiment.</p>
<p>“We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery,” <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/29/16213544/dominos-ford-pizza-self-driving-car">he said in a recent statement.</a> “The majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience.”</p>
<h2>No tipping attractive to students</h2>
<p>Human behaviour can be difficult to predict at the best of times, especially when dealing with food. This will be the first time a food service or retail company has used driverless cars to interact with actual consumers.</p>
<p>The experience will certainly offer convenience for customers in a variety of ways. With the app, expectations will be managed, and quality of service — Domino’s key strategic focus — will be more consistent. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">People can track their driverless pizza delivery with a smartphone app.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s because delivery times will be streamlined, fewer pizzas will be damaged in handling mishaps and the customer won’t have to deal with tips — at least not for now. No tipping will reduce price points, making delivered pizzas more affordable. For cash-strapped students, that’s key.</p>
<p>For Domino’s, the business case for a driverless fleet is unquestionably strong. Lower insurance costs, lower fuel consumption, consistent delivery times, no thefts, controllable temperatures to keep food safe for customers so therefore less waste — the list goes on. </p>
<p>Domino’s delivers more than a billion pizzas annually, and has more than 100,000 drivers. Running a driverless fleet could save the company millions. </p>
<p>Embracing the concept of <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/1/18/14306674/starship-robot-food-delivery-washington-dc-silicon-valley">home food deliveries without having to hire drivers</a> cannot come soon enough for the food service industry, which is looking for ways to increase revenue beyond their regular foot traffic. </p>
<p>Restaurant operators won’t need to deal with the headache of hiring the right people for delivery, and delivery is an important means of expanding the brand outside their facilities.</p>
<h2>Home delivery can be dicey</h2>
<p>Most of us who have ordered home-delivered food have had mixed experiences. </p>
<p>Some drivers make convicted felons look like choir boys, causing customers to be hesitant about the food. But home delivery is no walk in the park for the drivers, either. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/pizza-delivery-horror-stories-delivery-drivers-reveal-naked-truths">Drivers in the U.S. have told</a> of finding themselves in unbelievably <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/08/03/deliveroo-awkward-experiences/#6alVgiJeHmqp">awkward situations,</a> including being tipped with weed, being asked to eat with the customer to offer company, showing up during domestic disputes and being greeted by a naked customer as the front door opens.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Domino’s and Ford are testing whether people will go to the driveway or curb to get their pizza.</span>
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<p>There’s an endless list of unpleasant scenarios that would discourage anyone from contemplating home food delivery as a full-time job or even part-time job.</p>
<p>A humanless home food delivery experience, on the other hand, also offers a unique perspective on the market currency of convenience. </p>
<p>For years, price has been king. In study after study, price has trumped any other feature consumers were looking for in food service. </p>
<h2>Consumers crave convenience and privacy</h2>
<p>Younger generations, however, have a different take on convenience. Price remains a significant factor for higher revenues of course, but the constant quest for more convenience on both sides of the food continuum is now reaching the point of obsession. </p>
<p>Getting rid of delivery personnel is now a realistic approach. With driverless home food delivery, one could potentially get food delivered without seeing a single human being — a frightening thought for some, a reassuring one for others. </p>
<p>In the future, consumers could binge on their favourite junk food several times a week without the embarrassment of seeing the same delivery person.</p>
<p>No matter how you look at it, Domino’s and Ford are onto something. After all, driverless technologies are consistent with what Domino’s is all about. </p>
<p>The company has been successful over the years with its mastery of home delivery. Joining forces with Ford could make the company even more efficient.</p>
<p>Nonetheless not all of us needs Domino’s to get our food fix. Divorcing the human aspect from food is simply impossible for many food service companies — thousands of them, in fact. And thank goodness for that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvain Charlebois does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Domino’s Pizza and Ford have teamed up to offer pizza delivery via driverless cars in Michigan. Is it the way of the future?Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/605882016-07-01T01:17:54Z2016-07-01T01:17:54ZFading hope: why the youth of the Arab Spring are still unemployed<p>The 2011 Arab Spring was a clear signal to governments and ruling parties that the time had come for reform, if not revolution. People in the Middle East and North Africa were demanding nothing less than sweeping political, social and economic change.</p>
<p>The upheaval was prompted by economic stagnation and a slow unraveling of social safety nets, borne disproportionately by the working class. Protesters made it clear that change would come not from autocrats or international financial institutions, but from the people themselves.</p>
<p>As is the case in <a href="http://www.aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/73/91">Sub-Saharan Africa</a>, economic growth has not translated into employment for large segments of the Middle East and North Africa populations. Recent analyses of post-Arab Spring policies demonstrate that state-level efforts to address one of the root causes of the Arab Spring, youth unemployment, are at best, a mixed bag and, at worst, represent a return to a pre-Arab Spring status quo. </p>
<p>Failure to address this most fundamental grievance could lay the groundwork for a renewed revolt and ensuing disorder. </p>
<p>When asked what sort of change he expected to see in five years, one young man who had been active in the 2011 revolt, answered, “Nothing – the same as today. Nothing has changed. Nothing will.”</p>
<h2>Prelude to a revolt</h2>
<p>Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, international financial institutions, led by the International Monetary Fund, pushed for market-oriented policies in what they considered “middle-income” Middle Eastern and North African countries. These policies included trade openness, tax reform, “flexible” labor markets and smaller governments. They asserted this approach would generate the proverbial <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_105106.pdf">rising tide to lift all boats</a>.</p>
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<p>When economic growth failed to produce meaningful employment opportunities, people in the region, particularly better-educated youth with high expectations for their governments, took to the streets. They looked to the early success of Tunisia’s Arab Spring, the so-called <a href="http://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=31688&p=200750">Jasmine Revolution</a> of 2011, as an example. They demanded not the overthrow of their leaders – at least not at first – but jobs.</p>
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<p>The IMF’s market-oriented policies maintain that economic growth is dependent, in part, on human capital development – an educated and skilled workforce. The idea is this growth will lead to employment and, eventually, reduce poverty. To some observers, however, the Arab Spring protesters’ call for jobs signaled the failure of human capital development alone to provide progress out of poverty. Decades of relatively high educational attainment and increasing literacy rates have done little to improve well-being.</p>
<p>And, more importantly, decades of improvement in educational attainment have failed to instill much faith that hard work is rewarded with increased opportunity.</p>
<h2>Little has changed</h2>
<p>Five years later, the region continues to struggle with youth unemployment. In January, the Tunisian government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/22/tunisia-unrest-government-imposes-night-curfew-unemployment-protests-attacks">declared a nationwide curfew</a> for several days in response to renewed uprisings across the country. Protesters were met with teargas.</p>
<p>There are increasing numbers of young adults entering the labor market each year and simply not enough jobs to employ them. The situation is even more grim when one considers that, across the region, upwards of <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/international/21576657-around-world-almost-300m-15-24-year-olds-are-not-working-what-has-caused">40 percent</a> of youth are neither in employment, education or training, so are not included in the official unemployment statistics. </p>
<p>Long-term unemployment and weak employment prospects can only further fuel social unrest and a tendency toward radicalization. The sentiment expressed by a Jordanian protester recently is common in similar protests across the region: “We have no political demands, other than improving our <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/jordan-violent-protests-dhiban-unemployment-160623100230190.html">dire conditions</a>.” </p>
<h2>A renewed role for the state</h2>
<p>Why did nothing change?</p>
<p>For one, the IMF still pushes the same neoliberal policies that led to high rates of youth unemployment. The premise of this approach is that if you grow the economy, the rest will sort itself out. This has proven not to be enough.</p>
<p>In a hopeful sign of reconsideration of its support for neoliberalism, the IMF recently stated that their market-oriented approach may have failed to deliver <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2016/06/ostry.htm">all it promised</a>. Yet, few new ideas have been proposed since 2011, either at the international financial institution level, or at the national level. </p>
<p>Missing from the mix of international financial institution policy prescriptions are calls for a more active role for the state in not only ensuring that every citizen gets the education and training needed in order, to paraphrase Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, to live <a href="http://knopfdoubleday.com/book/163962/development-as-freedom/">a life of their own choosing</a>, but also in terms of providing employment opportunities when the market fails, which it inevitably does.</p>
<p>For example, regional governments could create public works programs focused on the many pressing human development needs in the region. To be of any real good for youth, these would need to be decent-paying jobs that come with benefits and some sense of security. However, this would mean breaking ranks with the IMF and increasing the state’s presence in managing the labor market. </p>
<p>Morocco has gone the furthest toward significant reforms using traditional active labor market policies – vocational training, apprenticeships, employment subsidies and labor exchanges. The kingdom has expanded labor exchange offices throughout the country, and adopted constitutional reforms that promise <a href="https://www.constitutionnet.org/files/morocco_eng.pdf">greater voice for youth in the economy and in governance</a>. </p>
<p>Morocco has also embarked upon a high-profile effort to institutionalize a substantial set of labor market reforms aimed at increasing youth employment — bringing young people into the formal economy, opening access to public sector jobs, or supporting entrepreneurship. These steps may, in the end, establish Morocco as the lone exemplar to emerge out of the Arab Spring.</p>
<p>Disillusionment runs deep among the <a href="http://www.albawaba.com/news/collective-suicide-attempt-raises-concerns-about-unemployment-jordan-839588">region’s youth</a>. Action at the policy level on youth unemployment in the region will need to come soon, or the region risks more upheaval of the sort witnessed in 2011.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60588/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heath J. Prince receives funding from the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and the U.S. Department of Labor. </span></em></p>Five years ago, young people in the Middle East and North Africa led a major uprising with hopes for a better life. A University of Texas labor market expert explains why little has changed.Heath J. Prince, Research Scientist in Public Policy, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/601962016-06-20T20:14:26Z2016-06-20T20:14:26ZInternships help students better manage their careers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125711/original/image-20160608-3492-ohmdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Internships give students the skills to navigate real world situations like interviews.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In today’s hyper competitive job market, internships are becoming a must-have on almost every job applicant’s CV. But when should a worker be paid for an internship, and is the rise of unpaid internships simply broadening the gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who can’t? We explore these and other issues in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">Internships Investigated</a> series.</em></p>
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<p>Students who completed internships as part of their university degree are better at making career decisions and are more satisfied with their career choices, research from the UK and Australia shows. It also seems that the longer the internship, the more employable the students feel they are. </p>
<p>As part of the research, 136 business students from the University of the West of England and 344 from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia were surveyed online, answering questions on how competent they felt in managing their careers and also which aspects of their internship, if any, made them more prepared in this area. Some of the surveyed students had completed an internship as part of their business degree while others had not.</p>
<p>In the UK, an internship for business students typically involves one paid year in the industry. This forms part of the longstanding “sandwich degree” model where students undertake two years at university, one year in industry and then return to university for their final year of study.</p>
<p>At the Western Australian university, the work experience was shorter with 100 to 150 hours in industry completed over a thirteen week academic semester. Business students were specialising in a range of different areas, including accounting, finance, marketing, human resource management and hospitality.</p>
<p>UK students who spent a longer time in industry felt they were more likely to gain employment and were better positioned than those on shorter internships. Workers who <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13620431111115604">think of themselves as more employable</a> cope better with job insecurity and are more prone to perform better in their jobs. So the longer the internship, the better. </p>
<p>Students who had completed an internship, when compared with those who did not, were better at making effective career decisions. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562517.2015.1136281">The study found</a> this is because students figured out their own personal priorities and how this affects their career decisions. Insight into the realities of a profession helped them learn whether it aligned with their personal values and sometimes the internship told them quite clearly which career pathway not to take. </p>
<p>Also because of the internship, students received feedback from other professionals on what skills are needed and where they needed to improve. The recruitment process into the internship, usually resume screening and an interview, also helped them understand what employers are looking for. </p>
<h2>Why do students need career management skills?</h2>
<p>Students need different skills to navigate a labour market in unstable economic conditions. A rising number of graduates are <a href="http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AGS_reports/AGS_reports_media_release_for_290714.pdf">not getting jobs in the short-term</a>, and we are also seeing more <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775712001380">underemployment, with graduates</a> in less skilled positions.</p>
<p>In an era of intense global competition for jobs, being able to recruit and retain graduates who are committed, satisfied and productive is critical for any business. Employers demand that new graduates be “well-rounded” with strong technical, communication and team-working skills. They also seek life experience through sporting and community activities. </p>
<p>However <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360802444347#.V1dV2Hp1YVE">all this may be meaningless</a> if they don’t know what jobs are out there, what their own strengths and weaknesses are, or haven’t developed any professional contacts to help get their foot in the door. </p>
<p>Better career management skills means students <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-013-9696-7">are more likely to get a job</a> but the benefits don’t stop there. In the end of the “job for life” era, graduates will use these skills to stay employed by moving across different positions, securing short-term work contracts and even seeking jobs abroad. </p>
<p>If students are better at planning for their careers, it may also reduce costs to employers from a high turnover of staff and lower productivity and wellbeing when graduate recruits are poorly matched to available roles. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://acd.sagepub.com/content/24/1/3.short">follow up study</a> of the Australian business students showed students who completed an internship were more satisfied with their career choices. This is important because <a href="http://tcp.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/07/31/0011000011398726.abstract">dissatisfaction with career choice can cause</a> lower grades, unhappiness and poor levels of commitment at work.</p>
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<p>You can read more stories from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">Internships Investigated</a> here.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60196/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denise Jackson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students who complete internships at university are better at managing their careers and are satisifed with their career choices, research shows.Denise Jackson, Senior Lecturer / Coordinator of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) programs, ECU School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/612102016-06-20T05:42:23Z2016-06-20T05:42:23ZLittle difference between Labor and the Coalition’s jobs programs for young people<p><a href="http://www.billshorten.com.au/labor_will_deliver_real_local_jobs_for_young_people">Labor</a> and the <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/youth-jobs-path-infographic">Coalition</a> have both put forward plans to boost employment for young people but the plans are both based on the same economic reasoning and are little different.</p>
<p>Both the Coalition and Labor seek to improve the employability of unemployed youth by providing basic work skills which in turn help them to increase profit for businesses.</p>
<p>The essence of the Coalition’s Youth Jobs PaTH internship scheme is that firms will be paid A$1,000 to take on young, unemployed people as interns for up to 12 weeks and a further payment of between $6,500 and $10,000 if they hire them full-time. Interns will receive $100 a week on top of their welfare payments. </p>
<p>The Labor proposal is part of its Working Futures scheme. Its major features are a six week “work readiness” course covering essential personal presentation, interview techniques and job hunting, a six-month work placement with an employer (paid at a training wage, a percentage of the award wage) and a Certificate III in a subject of their choice on successful completion.</p>
<p>The differences in the two schemes are mostly in their design although at first sight the Labor plan doesn’t offer as much incentive to an employer to take on young workers, as that of the Coalition. It’s also difficult to see why you would need six months of training in the basic skills which should already be covered by <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/news/job-services-australia-support-job-seekers-and-employers">Job Services Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Businesses determine the demand for labour and the most important factor in this is wages. Businesses will employ more people (or increase hours of employment) as long as the extra revenue generated exceeds the extra cost of employing them. Therefore, extra output and extra employment requires a fall in labour costs.</p>
<p>Unemployment is not a problem for most young people - it is concentrated among the most disadvantaged. This group has little or no skills or work experience. The chances of being unemployed <a href="http://library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/9004/1/BSL_Aust_youth_unemployment_hotspots_Mar2016.pdf">are much higher</a> if a person lives in a lower socioeconomic area and if a person’s parents have a lower level of education. </p>
<p>These young people are unemployed because, given their lack of skills and/or training, businesses can’t find anything profitable for them to do at the institutionally set wage which legally businesses must pay. It may also be the case that the wage that businesses would be willing to pay (in the absence of minimum wages) in order to profitably employ them would not be attractive enough for the unemployed given the level of social security benefits they would get if they didn’t work. </p>
<p>Contributing to youth unemployment is a <a href="http://adminpanel.ceda.com.au/FOLDERS/Service/Files/Documents/26792%7EFutureworkforce_June2015.pdf">combination of external shocks.</a> Globalisation and an increase in the use of technology have significantly changed the nature of demand for labour, while certain inflexibilities in the labour market, such as rigid wages and employment conditions in awards, have prevented adjustment to these demand changes. The effects of this can be seen in the relative growth in service sector employment, the growth of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/gig-economy">part-time and casual work</a>, the relative decline in demand for manual skills and the growth in demand for knowledge-based and people skills.</p>
<p>To increase demand, under both the Coalition and Labor policies, wages are reduced. In the Labor plan employers are allowed to pay trainee wages, which are lower than the general award for junior employees, while under the Coalition plan employers are paid a subsidy. </p>
<p>To encourage young people to go for jobs, under Labor’s policies they are paid more than they would get on the dole – a trainee wage. For a 17 year old in the retail sector is about $10 per hour. This is compared to the Coalition’s $100 per week plus social security benefits. The exact amount depends on a number of factors but for someone under 18 living with parents the Youth Allowance is $237 per fortnight. </p>
<p>Already critics are <a href="http://www.actu.org.au/actu-media/media-releases/2016/a-path-to-nowhere-liberal-government-s-jobs-plan-in-tattersto">pointing out potential problems</a>. They point to the danger employers will simply take advantage of cheap labour without real jobs resulting at the end of the subsidy period. </p>
<p>This would certainly weaken the impact of the schemes but the policies will still provide opportunities for young people to be exposed to work experience, to develop networks, self-confidence and skills on the job that could lead to a job.</p>
<p>Another criticism is that businesses will employ subsidised workers in place of those they would have employed anyway, resulting in no net increase in employment. However both policies still have value in correcting for the exclusion of the most disadvantaged from the labour market that exists now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>During his career he has received funding from many private and public sector organisations including most recently the ARC, NCVER, DEEWR, the AFPC, ABLA and CPA Australia.</span></em></p>The economic reasoning is the same behind Labor and the Coalition’s job plans for young people.Phil Lewis, Professor of Economics, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/603712016-06-19T20:10:39Z2016-06-19T20:10:39ZThe growing cost of internships could add to inequality<p><em>In today’s hyper competitive job market, internships are becoming a must-have on almost every job applicant’s CV. But when should a worker be paid for an internship, and is the rise of unpaid internships simply broadening the gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who can’t? We explore these and other issues in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">Internships Investigated </a>series.</em></p>
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<p>Internships and unpaid work can sometimes lead to ongoing employment, but our research shows there are various costs that may exclude people who are economically disadvantaged. </p>
<p>Substantial out-of-pocket expenses can be associated with an internship and few interns receive reimbursements for the costs incurred. For example, if the workplace is not close to where the intern lives, significant travel or accommodation costs, not to mention substantial travel time, may be required to undertake the placement. And sometimes there are costs associated with specialist clothes, personal protective equipment or materials that interns have to pay for. </p>
<p><a href="https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/1.1.15-Labor-Studies.pdf">Our research found</a> that students who participate in unpaid work, organised privately outside of course requirements, are often required to cover the cost of liability insurance during their internship. </p>
<p>High profile employers, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co-uk/news/article-3195938/United-Nations-intern-living-TENT-Geneva-not-afford-rent-quits-unpaid-internship.html">such as the United Nations</a>, expect interns to be responsible for funding their own travel, insurance, accommodation and living expenses in some of the world’s most expensive cities. </p>
<p>There is a high level of willingness from young people to participate in internships. The challenge is ensuring those who struggle to afford out-of-pocket expenses are not excluded. </p>
<h2>Upfront fees</h2>
<p>Some interns also pay for a third-party agency, often referred to as an “internship broker”, to secure an unpaid work position. Our ongoing research suggests the number of these agencies appears to be increasing, especially in the graduate student market. International students seem to be particularly vulnerable.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/internships-to-pwc-advertised-for-thousands-of-dollars-20160517-gowryd.html">One recent example</a> of this practice was an organisation called the Top Education Institute. Located within a university in Sydney, the agency was seeking to charge international students A$2,800 for the opportunity of an internship at consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. PwC later clarified that the opportunity was for a course, not an actual internship at PwC.</p>
<p>Another example is Professional Pathways Australia. This Monash University company <a href="https://www.holmesglen.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/87370/Professional_Pathways_Internships_Flyer.pdf">charges international students</a> studying in fields such as accountancy, law and public relations, A$1,500 to A$1,800 to secure a 12 week unpaid work placement. It’s an additional A$150 for insurance. A non-refundable A$500 is charged simply to submit an application.</p>
<h2>Opportunity costs</h2>
<p>Students may also face other indirect costs if they need to forgo paid work while undertaking an internship. Some young people who rely on their part-time jobs to cover basic living expenses may be prevented from participating in unpaid work or <a href="http://wox.sagepub.com/content/40/4/364.full.pdf+html">face hardship in doing so</a>.</p>
<p>Combining part-time work with a full-time placement may also compromise their ability to perform well in their studies. In the longer term, students who are reliant on a part-time income and who undertake less unpaid work as a result, may become less competitive in the job market than their more financially advantaged peers.</p>
<p>The opportunity costs of unpaid work experience is already very familiar to students studying teaching and nursing at university or aged care and early childhood education VET courses. To gain their qualifications, these students need to complete a substantial number of hours undertaking unpaid work placements.</p>
<p>For example, aged care, disability and home care students who are enrolled in a Certificate III in Individual Support, must intern for 120 hours, or more than three weeks full-time. For many teaching and nursing graduates, the requirement is more than 30 weeks over the full degree. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/calls-for-teaching-and-nursing-students-to-get-paid-for-placements-20160523-gp278w.html">There have been calls</a> to pay student teachers and student nurses the minimum wage while they are on placement. Some countries overseas have already partly adopted this practice. For example, <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/student-nurses-to-be-paid-less-than-minimum-wage-1017977-Aug2013/">Ireland pays student</a> nurses slightly less than the minimum wage. </p>
<p>A 2012 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fair-access-to-professional-careers-a-progress-report">UK Government report</a> on internships put this issue of pay firmly on the political agenda at the last UK general election. The UK Labour Party adopted <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-32346213">a policy of banning</a> unpaid internships lasting longer than four weeks. </p>
<p>There is still a lot that we do not know about the costs and benefits of internships. To devise appropriate policy responses, we need to know how widespread the use of intern brokers is, what kinds of travel, insurance and other upfront costs interns commonly incur, and to what extent the reliance on paid work acts as a barrier to participation for the economically disadvantaged. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read more stories from Internships Investigated <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paula McDonald has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Government Department of Employment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Oliver has received funding from the Australian Government Department of Employment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deanna Grant-Smith receives funding from National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. </span></em></p>Internships can have direct and indirect costs that may exclude some who can’t afford them.Paula McDonald, Professor of Work and Organisation, ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyDamian Oliver, Deputy Director (Business Development), Centre for Management and Organisation Studies, UTS Business School, University of Technology SydneyDeanna Grant-Smith, Senior Lecturer, Management, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/607162016-06-16T20:09:30Z2016-06-16T20:09:30ZWhat evidence is there that internships secure employment?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126662/original/image-20160615-22418-3pjzgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A lot of research on internships is based on perspectives of employers and interns, which makes the findings less objective.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In today’s hyper competitive job market, internships are becoming a must-have on almost every job applicant’s CV. But when should a worker be paid for an internship, and is the rise of unpaid internships simply broadening the gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who can’t? We explore these and other issues in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">Internships Investigated</a> series.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Government and universities alike are pushing to make graduates more employable and internships are often presented as the solution to this. There is a lot of research that shows the virtues of participating in internships but not a lot on whether it actually leads to securing employment.</p>
<p>The concept of internships itself <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/EJTD-04-2013-0044">is a slippery one</a>. The term internship covers a wide range of experiences from programs to introduce the long-term unemployed to working, to white collar internships for recent university graduates.</p>
<p>Internships designed to get jobs for the unemployed are the focus in Australia’s current election campaign. A key example is the Coalition proposed <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/2016-17-budget-employment-overview">Youth Jobs PaTH</a> (Prepare, Trial, Hire) program for youth on income support. </p>
<p>Like earlier iterations of work-for-the-dole programs this type of internship forces engagement with work, and has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/extra-steps-required-to-ensure-jobs-plan-delivers-for-young-people-58868">criticised for being too narrow</a>. <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcf.fbe.unimelb.edu.au%2Fstaff%2Fjib%2Fdocuments%2Fwfdwp.pdf">Australian research</a> shows that these types of programs restrict young people from searching for jobs as they try to meet the program requirements.</p>
<p>More typically, internships are often required as part of an academic qualification or in attempts to secure employment after graduation. Historically, before the shift of qualifications to universities, some areas of study, such as teaching, <a href="http://acquire.cqu.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/cqu:10036">pharmacy</a> and <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/work-review-australian-government-health-workforce-programs-toc%7Eappendices%7Eappendix-iv-history-commonwealth-involvement-nursing-midwifery-workforce">nursing</a>, operated apprenticeships with on-the-job training as the accepted method of learning. In these disciplines and courses, learning occurred in the workplace under the supervision of qualified and experienced practitioners. </p>
<p>Within universities, internships are part of a suite of measures designed to better <a href="https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30049068/pilgrim-industryanduniversity-2012.pdf">integrate formal education and work</a>. Under this model, internships are aligned with a drive for <a href="https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30049068/pilgrim-industryanduniversity-2012.pdf">more experiential learning</a>.</p>
<p>Whether or not participants in these university internships get jobs varies depending on what they are studying. For example <a href="http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv:68693">a Canadian study</a> found that arts, humanities and social science university graduates who participated in these types of internships, experienced less likelihood of securing a relevant full-time job. But this type of analysis generally overlooks the impact of labour market issues, like the supply of graduate jobs. </p>
<p>Another small <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rapl20/current">study of Australian urban planning students</a> found that, in addition to participating in internships as a mandatory part of their degree, many students also resorted to periods of unpaid work in an effort to improve their employment prospects. </p>
<p>In general, research supports the assertion that internships help graduates obtain employment, but most of this research is based on <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10734-012-9509-4">surveys of student</a>or <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00400911011017690">employer perceptions</a>, or <a href="https://pureapps2.hw.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/learning-to-labour-an-evaluation-of-internships-and-employability-in-the-ict-sector(ce88642e-b4ce-4f74-b19f-28403e33b7c8)/export.html">both</a>, not on employment statistics. </p>
<p>Perception surveys ask people what they think about something. For example, do you think an internship will be useful in the search for a job? Most people will answer yes. Data from these types of studies are not objective <a href="http://www.gsdrc.org/publications/perception-surveys-in-fragile-and-conflict-affected-states/">and have no link to outcomes</a>. Thinking an internship is valuable will not get you a job. </p>
<p>Employment data is a more reliable indicator. However, it is difficult to isolate the impact of internships on employment outcomes. For example, studies (and students) tend to overlook the contribution of paid part-time work, such as in hospitality and retail, to graduate employability. </p>
<p>The value of an internship will most likely vary across disciplines or across educational institutions. In our search of the literature, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2016.1144181">only one study</a> investigated the effect of internships on graduate unemployment, using actual employment data.</p>
<p>The study did not separate findings by discipline, but it did compare graduate unemployment outcomes across degree programs with and without internships in Portugal. Overall, the study showed that students undertaking courses with internships were likely to have lower unemployment than those who did not undertake internships. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2016.1144181">Research shows</a> that having a number of shorter internships embedded into a degree results in better employment outcomes than one long internship towards the end of study.</p>
<p>So while the rhetoric presents internships as overwhelmingly beneficial as a pathway to employment, we’re yet to see conclusive research evidence of this. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read more stories from Internships Investigated <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Price has received funding from the Australian Research Council for a Linkage project that included Education Queensland, Brisbane Catholic Education, the Young Workers' Advisory Service and the Queensland Council of Unions as industry partners to undertake research on young people's experiences of work. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deanna Grant-Smith receives funding from National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. </span></em></p>There isn’t a lot of research on whether an internship will secure you a job.Robin Price, Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations and HRM, Queensland University of TechnologyDeanna Grant-Smith, Senior Lecturer, Management, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/601972016-06-15T20:17:30Z2016-06-15T20:17:30ZAre unpaid internships unlawful?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126430/original/image-20160614-29241-1qi1pqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When does an internship cross the line and become unlawful?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In today’s hyper competitive job market, internships are becoming a must-have on almost every job applicant’s CV. But when should a worker be paid for an internship, and is the rise of unpaid internships simply broadening the gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who can’t? We explore these and other issues in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">Internships Investigated</a> series.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>There are many different types of internships and the legal rules that govern them are not entirely clear. But as a number of recent court cases show, employers are at risk of breaking the law if they use interns to do the work of paid employees.</p>
<p>It is common today for students or job-seekers to undertake work experience with an organisation. This may involve a short trial, to review an applicant’s suitability for paid employment. Or it may be a longer engagement, often now called an internship. </p>
<p>Once confined to medical graduates gaining supervised experience before being licenced to practise, the term now captures <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/international/21615612-temporary-unregulated-and-often-unpaid-internship-has-become-route">a wide range of placements</a> with businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies. Internships typically offer a taste of what is involved in a job or industry, plus the chance to make contacts or fill out a resumé.</p>
<p>In the US, interns are <a href="https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/1.1.15-Labor-Studies.pdf">now estimated</a> to represent 1.3% of the labour force, with around half of all college students completing an internship during their studies. No firm data is yet available on their prevalence in Australia. But a <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/763/UW-complete-report.pdf.aspx">2013 research report</a> commissioned by the Fair Work Ombudsman found significant evidence of their use – and also cause for concern. A number of businesses seem to be using their interns to do work other employees are paid to do. </p>
<p>It is hard to take exception with the short and mostly observational programs typically undertaken by high school students, or properly supervised placements embedded in education or training courses. But it is a different matter when job-seekers are expected to work for weeks or months without wages to get a chance at a paid job.</p>
<p>Unpaid internships can have a damaging impact on social mobility, by <a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/internships/">excluding those who cannot afford to undertake them</a>. But they also threaten the integrity of our labour standards – and in particular the principle of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. The <a href="http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/features/WCMS_187693/lang--en/index.htm">International Labour Organisation has warned</a> of internships becoming a “disguised form of employment,” without necessarily the benefits they promise, such as real on the job training.</p>
<p>There are detailed rules in Australia for the employment of workers, set by a combination of legislation and awards made by bodies such as the Fair Work Commission. These set minimum rates for different types of work, as well as regulating hours of work, leave entitlements and termination of employment.</p>
<p>So when is it lawful to engage someone to undertake work experience, without complying with these rules? Generally speaking, the answer depends on whether the arrangement can be characterised as employment. </p>
<p>This term is not formally defined. But it has been interpreted to require some form of contract, or legally enforceable agreement, to work under the direction and control of an employer. This need not be in writing. But there must be an arrangement that a reasonable person would regard as involving mutually binding commitments – whether to work for wages, or something else.</p>
<p>Australia’s main labour statute, the Fair Work Act 2009, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fwa2009114/s13.html">states</a> a person is not an employee while on a vocational placement. <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fwa2009114/s12.html">This means</a> an unpaid placement required by an authorised education or training course. </p>
<p>Hence the Act does not apply to unpaid work experience undertaken for a university or TAFE course, or a program of training legally required to enter a profession. The exclusion may also cover unpaid work undertaken under a government assistance programme – although the status of the Liberal/National Coalition’s proposed PaTH (Prepare-Trial-Hire) Program is <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/coalitions-840-million-interns-plan-illegal-lawyers-20160511-gosd1e.html">less clear</a>.</p>
<p>Where an internship is not formally connected to education or training, its legal status may be uncertain. But <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/unpaid-work">the Fair Work Ombudsman views</a> an intern as an employee if they are expected to perform tasks that an organisation needs to be done, and they are not altruistically offering their services as a true “volunteer” would. If so, they must be paid the relevant minimum wage.</p>
<p>In accordance with that view, the Ombudsman has taken a number of businesses to court, with <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/june-2016/20160604-kjoo-litigation">further actions pending</a>. Last year, a <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2015-media-releases/january-2015/20150129-crocmedia-penalty">broadcaster was fined</a> for underpaying two university students who worked as radio producers. </p>
<p>The breaches were acknowledged not to be deliberate and were quickly rectified after the Ombudsman intervened. But the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCCA/2015/140.html">judge described</a> the arrangements as “exploitative” and emphasised that “profiting from volunteers is not acceptable conduct”.</p>
<p>Similar views have been expressed in two recent cases, one involving <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/february-2016/20160216-aldred-penalty">three internships at a marketing firm</a>, and the other a job-seeker who answered an advertisement for an event planner internship and had to do 180 hours of unpaid work before being given paid employment. In this second case the company and its director, who had previously been warned for purporting to engage employees as volunteers, were <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/june-2016/20160604-aimg-bq-penalty">fined over $280,000</a>.</p>
<p>In these cases, the interns’ status as employees was conceded. In future cases that issue may be contested and possibly different conclusions reached. But any organisation that relies on interns to do productive work, without a connection to an authorised education or training course, should be aware it is at serious risk of breaching Australia’s workplace laws.</p>
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<p><em>This is the first article in our series Internships Investigated, you can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/internships-investigated">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Stewart receives funding from the Australian Research Council to research on ‘Work Experience: Labour Law at the Intersection of Work and Education’ (Discovery Project DP150104516), together with Prof Rosemary Owens, A/Prof Anne Hewitt and Dr Joanna Howe.</span></em></p>Employers run the risk of breaking the law if they are getting interns to do work that otherwise would be done by paid employees.Andrew Stewart, John Bray Professor of Law, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/581442016-05-04T02:36:05Z2016-05-04T02:36:05ZThree critical tests for Budget 2016: how does it fare?<p>There are three critical tests for this year’s budget. Is it serious about repairing Australia’s ongoing structural budget deficits? Does it make much of a difference to economic growth? And is it fair?</p>
<h2>Budget repair</h2>
<p>Over the last year, the bottom line got worse. The long-promised return to surplus receded another year over the horizon. This is the seventh time a budget has forecast a drift back to surplus over the following four years while the outcome for the current year showed minimal improvement over the year before.</p>
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<p>Also consistent with the history of the last seven years, most of the damage was done by “parameter variations” – changes in the economy that meant the budget didn’t live up to previous expectations. </p>
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<p>The government has made much of the need to repair the budget through spending reductions rather than tax increases. Overall, however, forecasts assume that most of budget repair will be the result of increasing revenues as a share of GDP. A large component is that nominal wages are expected to rise, leading to higher income tax collections, known by budget nerds as “fiscal drag”, and commonly referred to as “bracket creep”. </p>
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<p>There’s plenty of room for things to keep going wrong. The largest risk is that nominal wages may be lower than forecast. </p>
<p>Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported much lower inflation than expected. On the day of the federal budget the Reserve Bank responded by cutting interest rates, implying a real risk that unusually low inflation will persist. If it does, then income tax collections will be hit, hurting the budget bottom line, particularly in the last year or two of the budget estimates.</p>
<p>This presents an interesting challenge for Treasury. If an election is called towards the end of this week, then it must release PEFO – the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook – by around May 20. With inflation lurching south, PEFO may significantly revise the budget bottom line, which will inevitably raise perceptions – probably unfairly – that the government is not firmly in control of economic management.</p>
<p>The other big risk is that export prices fall short of forecasts. The budget assumes an iron ore price of US$55 per tonne. This is close to recent prices, but they were US$40 a tonne just six months ago. If the price drops back US$10 to US$45 per tonne, budget balances are expected to be A$4 billion a year worse off.</p>
<p>Specific measures don’t do much collectively to improve the budget bottom line. As with each of the last seven years, there are substantial gross tax increases and spending reductions, but other decisions largely offset these. Overall, specific measures drag on the budget outcome by $5 billion for the coming year, but improve the last estimated year (2019-20) by $6 billion. </p>
<h2>Jobs and growth</h2>
<p>The key selling point for the budget is “jobs and growth”. However, there are questions about whether the budget initiatives will matter much to the economy within the next four years.</p>
<p>The largest single initiative is a cut to the corporate tax rate, particularly for small-to-medium businesses. The tax rate will be cut from 28.5% to 27.5%, and by 2019-20 this will apply to businesses with up to $10 million in turnover, up from the current limit of $2 million. </p>
<p>This will doubtless be popular with hundreds of thousands of small businesses. However, given Australia’s dividend imputation scheme, the tax change makes no difference to the amount of tax levied on profits paid out to Australian business owners. A lower tax rate only matters to the budget and the economy when businesses re-invest retained earnings. </p>
<p>However, the overall effect will be small. The tax changes are supposed to reduce tax collected in 2019-20 by A$2 billion – by definition, money retained in businesses and re-invested. This compares with total corporate investment in capital of about <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5625.0">A$120 billion a year</a>, and much more in paying for additional staff. The tax change is small beer in comparison.</p>
<p>There may be a larger tankard of beer in reducing tax rates for foreign corporates. But they will receive no benefit until after 2020-21 – well after the next two elections. And recent work has cast doubt on <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-business-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-it-but-smes-lose-from-a-company-tax-cut-57965">how much of the economic benefit will ultimately benefit Australians</a>.</p>
<p>It is stretching things to believe that other measures will turbo-charge the economy. The budget contains relatively little new infrastructure spending. </p>
<p>Instead there are a lot of plans to do more planning. The most promising economic feature may be a new <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-03/federal-budget-rural-youth-job-plan/7376562">Youth Jobs PaTH package</a>. This replaces work for the dole with a training, internship and subsidised employment pathway that is at least a little closer to <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-to-get-people-back-into-work-1157">what the literature recognises as best practice</a>.</p>
<h2>Fairness</h2>
<p>Despite its jobs and growth packaging, the boldest moves in the budget were about fairness. Wide-ranging reforms to superannuation are a big move in the right direction. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/catch-up-super-contributions-a-tax-break-for-rich-old-men-51116">current system is poorly targeted</a>, with most of the tax concessions going to the top 20% of taxpayers who need the least help in saving for retirement. </p>
<p>Under the reforms, the top 4% will pay about A$2.6 billion more tax in 2019-20, offset by an additional A$1.8 billion tax concessions for the bottom 28%. These are material changes very different from the tinkering at the edges that has characterised superannuation reform over the last decade.</p>
<p>More controversially, the budget raises the 37% income tax threshold from $80,000 to $87,000. This gives the top 20% of income earners an extra $315 a year. </p>
<p>The fairness of concentrating tax relief on this group depends on the date of comparison. Genuinely middle-income earners (on $45,000 a year) have lost a greater percentage of their income in tax because of bracket creep since the Coalition took office. However, the change in percentage of income paid in tax is more or less the same for all income groups since 2011-12, because lower-income groups received more benefit from carbon tax compensation.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Budget 2016 was much like many of its predecessors over the last seven years. Budget repair was put off till later, and the net impact of budget decisions was small. </p>
<p>Although much was made of individual initiatives, these are unlikely to make much difference to economic growth in the next four years. </p>
<p>Although fairness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, this budget will be easier to defend than some others in recent times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and Grattan uses the income to pursue its activities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Wood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Budget repair was put off till later, and the net impact of decisions in the budget was small, but it will be easier to defend in the coming election campaign than some other recent efforts.John Daley, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan InstituteDanielle Wood, Fellow, Australian Perspectives, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/569162016-04-04T06:19:40Z2016-04-04T06:19:40ZFactCheck Q&A: does it take 4.7 years for young graduates to find employment in Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116718/original/image-20160330-28451-1bewqu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Entrepreneur and CEO, Holly Ransom, speaking on Q&A.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Q&A</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>The Conversation is fact-checking claims made on Q&A, broadcast Mondays on the ABC at 9:35pm. Thank you to everyone who sent us quotes for checking via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/conversationEDU">Twitter</a> using hashtags #FactCheck and #QandA, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a> or by <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">email</a>.</strong></p>
<hr>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IHzNI0t6--Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Excerpt from Q&A, March 28, 2016.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<blockquote>
<p>What I find really interesting is it now takes a young person 4.7 years to find employment after graduating. That was a year back in 1986. – Holly Ransom, entrepreneur and CEO of Emergent, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4415856.htm">speaking</a> on Q&A on March 28, 2016. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The road from education to employment remains challenging for young Australians. A sluggish economy has dragged down the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185615571981">youth job market</a>, and until very recently there have been few signs of recovery. These problems are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/revealed-30-year-economic-betrayal-dragging-down-generation-y-income">not unique to Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Entrepreneur and CEO, Holly Ransom, told the Q&A audience that it now takes a young person 4.7 years to find employment after graduating.</p>
<p>Is that right?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>When asked for a source for that figure, Ransom’s spokeswoman referred The Conversation to a report published by the <a href="http://unlimitedpotential.fya.org.au/transition/full-time-work-is-decreasing-and-casual-and-part-time-work-are-increasing/">Foundation for Young Australians</a> (FYA). The analysis behind the report was conducted by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research using Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data. The report found that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduates from education are finding it harder to find full-time work. It is taking on average 4.7 years for young people to move into full-time work after completing full time education and 2.7 years to find any work (compared to one year respectively in 1986).</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117042/original/image-20160401-28462-opek94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://unlimitedpotential.fya.org.au/transition/full-time-work-is-decreasing-and-casual-and-part-time-work-are-increasing/">FYA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can read the full report <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/How-young-people-are-faring-report-card-2015-FINAL.pdf">here</a> and the supporting analysis <a href="http://unlimitedpotential.fya.org.au/transition/transition-is-becoming-more-complex-and-challenging/">here</a>.</p>
<p>The first thing to note is that while Ransom’s quote referred to employment in general, the 4.7 years statistic refers to time taken to find a <em>full-time job</em>. The report estimates that the average time required to find <em>any job</em> is 2.7 years in 2013.</p>
<p>The 4.7 years statistic isn’t just about university graduates. It includes all young people (aged 15-24 years), no matter whether they went to university, did a vocational education and training course (like TAFE or an apprenticeship), or finished their education in high school.</p>
<p>Apart from these clarifications about the meaning of “employment” and “graduates”, Holly Ransom’s representation of the report’s findings is broadly accurate.</p>
<h2>How are the figures calculated?</h2>
<p>The figures in the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) report were calculated using data from the ABS’ monthly <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwism5-dsOzLAhXjKqYKHdk4BowQFgglMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abs.gov.au%2Fausstats%2Fabs%40.nsf%2Fmf%2F6202.0&usg=AFQjCNHN1GfwZpAJNqxiJDGf-CMf8nCxUg">Labour Force Survey</a>, which is primarily a cross-sectional survey.</p>
<p>This means that when comparing Labour Force Survey figures for different years, we are comparing two entirely different samples, although each represents the population at that point in time. It’s not looking at the same people or households over time.</p>
<p>When asked how the figure of 4.7 years was calculated, a spokeswoman for FYA told The Conversation that, using the ABS Labour Force Survey data, the researchers:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Looked at the average age at which more than half the population had left full-time education</li>
<li>Looked at the average age at which more than half the population has got full-time work</li>
<li>Then they compared those two numbers, factoring in that the people graduating and the people getting jobs are from slightly different age cohorts.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>You can read the full response from FYA <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-foundation-for-young-australians-57112">here</a>. </p>
<h2>A few grains of salt</h2>
<p>Overall, the FYA report upon which Ransom’s quote was based showed that today’s young Australians are leaving full-time education <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/productsbyCatalogue/556A439CD3D7E8A8CA257242007B3F32?OpenDocument">later than in the past</a> and entering full-time employment <a href="http://education.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1624532/LifePatterns_10YearFollowingGenY_FINAL_webversion.pdf">later</a> than in the past. That could be for a range of reasons. </p>
<p>The Labour Force Survey doesn’t actually ask employed people how long they took to find their job. As the FYA’s spokeswoman’s told The Conversation in relation to the figure of 4.7 years:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is worth noting that during these years [between full-time education and full-time employment] young people may be doing a range of things, including working part-time while studying part-time, travelling or volunteering overseas, working in a casual job or on a contract, and we are talking specifically about them finding full-time work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They might also return to full-time education. Remember: the data used for the analysis doesn’t follow the same people over time. Instead, it shows two snapshots of different people at different points in time – those in full-time education and those in employment. </p>
<p>To illustrate, let’s imagine two young people, John and Mary, who represent the two basic categories used in the real data analysis done for FYA. John is 18 years old and taking a gap year after completing his HSC. He takes part in the Labour Force Survey in 2007 and is recorded as not in employment and not in full-time education. John’s situation is used to estimate that young people start leaving the full-time education system at around age 18 in 2007. A year after participating in the Labour Force Survey, John starts looking for work and quickly lands a job.</p>
<p>Mary is 22 years old and recently completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She went straight to university after finishing her HSC and never previously had a full-time job. After graduating, Mary quickly found a full-time job. She takes part in the Labour Force Survey in 2007 and is recorded as in full-time employment and not in full-time education. Mary’s situation is used to estimate that young people who are not in full-time education start finding full-time jobs at around age 22 in 2007. A year after participating in the Labour Force Survey, Mary loses her first job and starts searching for a new employer.</p>
<p>Using data from the Labour Force Survey, we could conclude that the average duration between study and employment for young Australians was four years in 2007. This figure is obtained by subtracting John’s age when he took part in the survey (18 years) from Mary’s age when she took part (22 years).</p>
<p>Does this figure of four years fairly represent either person’s experience? Clearly, it does not.</p>
<p>Of course, this is a deliberate simplification. But it helps to illustrate some of the dangers in comparing different population snapshots and interpreting these as durations.</p>
<h2>Other data sources</h2>
<p>Graduate Careers Australia surveys show that:</p>
<ul>
<li>roughly <a href="http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/researchreports/graduatedestinations/">2/3 university graduates find work within four months</a> of graduating and;</li>
<li>roughly <a href="http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/surveys/beyondgraduationsurvey/%20of%20university%20graduates%20find%20work">4/5 university graduates find work within three years of graduation</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>The National Centre for Vocational Education Research’s <a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/statistic/21065.html">Student Outcomes Survey</a> shows that:</p>
<ul>
<li>64% of 15-19 year olds who completed a VET course in 2015 were employed six months after graduation and; </li>
<li>75% of 20-24 year olds who completed a VET course in 2015 were employed six months after graduation. </li>
</ul>
<p>These figures suggest that only a minority of young VET completers struggle to find work. </p>
<p>What about the broader group of young people, including those who have never done any tertiary study? The government’s <a href="http://www.lsay.edu.au/">Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth</a> follows cohorts of young people for 10 years, starting at age 15. It allows comparisons between different cohorts at the same age. </p>
<p>Of those in the survey’s 2006 cohort, 55% had gained their first full-time job by the time they turned 21 (which, for this cohort, was in 2012). That represented a small decline compared to earlier cohorts from this survey.</p>
<p>So that data shows Australia’s current youth are indeed taking a bit longer than their predecessors to find full-time work. </p>
<p>The FYA’s estimate is that today’s average young Australian will not find full-time work until 23.4 years of age. This figure seems high compared to the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth’s evidence that most young people have attained a full-time job by age 21.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Holly Ransom’s comment was a broadly accurate representation of findings published by the Foundation for Young Australians. It would have been more accurate to say “full-time” employment, but given the fast pace of live television, this omission is understandable.</p>
<p>Other data suggest that the current interval between study and work is typically shorter than FYA’s report implies.</p>
<p>Other data does, however, support the argument that Australia’s current youth are taking longer than their predecessors to find full-time work. <strong>– Joshua Healy</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>This is a sound analysis. The FactCheck author correctly points out the dangers in trying to deduce dynamics (such as the time path taken to get a job) from static data (such as an average at a point in time). </p>
<p>For instance, according to the Labour Force Survey in 2014, the average duration of unemployment for the labour market as a whole was 36 weeks. This could be interpreted as meaning that on average someone becoming unemployed will take nine months to get a job. But the data also reveal that over 20% of the jobless were unemployed for less than four weeks and over 60% were unemployed for less than six months. Clearly, there are quite different interpretations possible from the same data set. </p>
<p>It is correct that Holly Ransom did, with the qualification pointed out by the FactCheck author, accurately quote the FYA report. </p>
<p>However, other data indicate that most young people get a full-time job relatively soon after completing study.</p>
<p>In the post-GFC economic climate, data do suggest the time taken to get the first full-time job has increased for VET and university graduates. <strong>– Phil Lewis</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><div class="callout"> Have you ever seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Healy is a researcher at the Centre for Workplace Leadership, which receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Employment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Lewis does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article. He also has no relevant affiliations. During his career he has received funding from many private and public sector organisations including most recently the ARC, NCVER, DEEWR, the AFPC, ABLA and CPA Australia.</span></em></p>Entrepreneur and CEO, Holly Ransom, told the Q&A audience that it now takes a young person 4.7 years to find employment after graduating. Is that right?Josh Healy, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Workplace Leadership, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.