By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A HALLAM-based youth worker has warned of worsening youth unemployment in Casey.
Youthworks Victoria manager Claude Olivares said he thought the youth unemployment divide was continuing to widen throughout the municipality.
“There are so many young people who have left school early or have been unable to complete further study or training that are now finding themselves unable to find work,” he said.
“We are doing all we can to educate, train and empower these young people but there are always more looking for help.
“These kids need our help, they need our guidance and more must be done to ensure they have the same opportunities as anyone else.”
Mr Olivares said one of the biggest current issues in Casey was students dropping out several years before completing their VCE.
“The biggest problem is too many kids dropping out of year 9 and year 10 and we have a huge problem with a lot of Pacific Islander youth that are completely disengaged,” he said.
“There’s no agency or resources out there to help them and they fall through the cracks.”
The Hallam-based Youthworks provides a range of programs and services for the youth of Casey to become qualified for future work.
Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley echoed Mr Olivares’s concern, referencing recent youth unemployment statistics for ages 15 to 24 analysed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Last month the Brotherhood released it analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, indicating a 12.9 per cent monthly youth unemployment rate in Victoria’s south-east to July 2014 compared to an 11.7 monthly rate to July 2013.
“The job queues are growing daily as struggling businesses in the south-east are forced to close their doors and young people are denied the opportunity to get a start in life,” Ms Graley said.
“I am constantly contacted by young people in my electorate who are finding it desperately hard to get a job.”
But a Government spokesperson questioned the severity of the statistics, pointing to other ABS figures.
“The youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate in Melbourne’s south-east is currently 13.2 per cent using a 12 month average to August 2014,” the spokesperson said.
“This compares to 13 per cent in the 12 months to November 2010 (Labor’s last year in office) – so only a slight increase in four years and below the state youth unemployment rate of 14.1 per cent.
“Also, the number of youth unemployed in Melbourne’s south-east has fallen from 8700 (12 month average to November 2010) to 8400 (12 month average to August 2014).”
Last week the Government unveiled a $33.4 billion election pitch to create 200,000 new jobs over five years, but according to media reports questions remain over how much of that would be spent on new initiatives.
