Skilling our young people for a happier future
HAVE you ever wondered whether your life would be different if you had gone into a trade after school instead of studying at university?
HAVE you ever wondered whether your life would be different if you had gone into a trade after school instead of studying at university?
Would you be happier if you were working outside, in a trade, building things with your hands, rather than spending three or four years in a classroom environment or learning the ropes in an office?
The Skillsroad Youth Census, commissioned by the federally-funded Apprenticeship Support Australia, has found that young people undertaking an apprenticeship, traineeship or working in some capacity were happier overall and experienced higher levels of meaning, resilience and optimism than every other post-school pathway.
The survey canvassed the opinions of 30,000 15 to 24 year olds and was commissioned in response to the nation’s high youth unemployment rate.
While last year’s national Census found there were low levels of life satisfaction and wellbeing, taking the pulse of our nation’s post-school youth was a way of gauging why our young people were unhappy, and whether work, study, stress or career pathways could be contributing.
In recent years, the public has pushed students towards greater Year 12 completion rates and ensuring our youth are highly-educated. That included students less inclined to study and more likely to want to work with their hands.
As the nation transitioned from being a manufacturing powerhouse and industries closed down, including the automotive sector, having a population with higher education levels made some sense.
However, we were failing to recognise that not every teenager wanted to go to university to later join the white-collar brigade.
We brushed aside the need for tradies, chefs, mechanics, hairdressers and even baristas. We also need people in advanced manufacturing, to build technical equipment such as submarines.
There’s an emphasis again on encouraging people to continue vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships. They’re real skills for real careers, a headstart in life, cash in the bank and a step towards home ownership earlier than those who have accumulated a HECS debt.
Apprentices in the Skills-road Youth Census cited a wellbeing score well above the national average, followed closely by those in traineeships, taking a full-time job, and going on a working gap year.
Finding a part-time job, going to university or not working at all scored either on or below the national wellbeing average. They were not as happy as their VET counterparts.
We often blindly talk young people into further study, when the jobs can be hard to find. The irony is that despite there being a national skills shortage across the trades sector, the message isn’t getting through that jobs are more readily available.
Young people have mistakenly cited concerns that “there aren’t enough jobs” in trades as a major worry.
Frighteningly, only half of the respondents felt they received quality career advice during their school years.
There’s a lot to be said about working in the trades and starting an apprenticeship or traineeship.
The voices just aren’t loud enough yet.
Steven Moore is director, Apprenticeship Support Australia (administered by Business SA)