Young Australians are being left in the lurch. 1 in 3 young Australian’s are unemployed or underemployed, and the youth unemployment rate has soared to 16.1%. But knowledge has the power to change the lives of young people across Australia, and see these stats turn around. How? By teaching young people how to be employable and empowering them with job-market know-how. We’re talking networking, mentorship, self-advocacy…. even taxation and resume writing. All the functional ‘life-stuff’ you wished and was on the high-school curriculum (and still feels like it should be…)
YPower
YPower are a member and community-based youth Social Enterprise. They’re positive change-makers committed to ethical practices and social responsibility. Through a series of education programs and acclaimed mentorships, they’re providing Young Australians with the tools to succeed and thrive in the professional world. These are the three key areas YPower identify as essential to youth development and offer support in:
- Community Building & Mentor-ship
- Professional Development
- Advocacy and Empathy Education
And here’s why these are essential avenues to empowering young working Australians.
Community Building & Mentorship
Imagine a world where young people leave school, and are then integrated into a national community focused on finding work opportunities and building connections with other young people. ‘Stronger, together’ is no cliche when it means job prosperity, self-confidence and self-assurance. Young people won’t have to feel like a small fish in a big pond when they’ve got each other, and a clear sense of purpose and direction toward building a career for themselves.
This is where YPower’s Five Keys to Succeed Program begins.
This five-week employment education program is engineered to make a success out of our young workforce. Helped along by a volunteer mentor, the program focuses on teaching young people how to stay connected with their peers, how to navigate the job market, how to land a job, how to handle themselves in the workplace and their rights as an employee. These are essential lessons that young people no longer have to figure out for themselves. YPower mentors truly want to see young people succeed. After all, they’re our future leaders and changemakers, so why not help steer them toward early high-achievement.
See here to learn more about YPower’s 5 Key program.
Professional Development
Many secondary-school Career Development Education models are under-resourced and ill-informed with regards to what Young Australians want, or even need to learn, to prepare them for working life. A clear comprehension of how to build a career, how to work towards goals and integrate passions are the means of restoring the confidence of young, soon-to-be working Australians. Through mentorship, workshops and interactive programs, we can ensure young people experience successful first steps into the workforce. This will result in long term benefit to their motivation and commitment to learning and growing.
Advocacy and Empathy Education
Over-represented in the casual or contract work sectors, Many Young Australians enter the workforce without the tools to understand and fight for their rights in the workplace. This is essential knowledge to feeling protected in a professional setting. Young people who are aware, are empowered, and it’s up to us to amplify their voices.
Blog by Izzy Dugan, Bambuddha Digital Storyteller. Special thanks to YPower for their contribution.
