Angela Mollard: Three things to help kids save the ‘lost generation’
Angela Mollard says parents can do three things to ensure their children don’t become NEETs – young people who are neither in education or employment.
When my daughter was 15 I made her cry. We were walking around our local shopping
precinct where she was approaching businesses to ask whether they had any part-time
jobs.
She hated it. Not the thought of working, but the intimidating process of going up to
bosses and giving them her CV.
I’d offered to accompany her for moral support but as we stood outside a bakery she
suddenly declared she couldn’t do it. It was too scary and she hated the thought of
rejection.
I encouraged her to persevere. “You just need one lucky break,” I told her. And that’s
when she burst into tears.
At that point, we could’ve given up and gone home. Instead, I persuaded her to try three
places. She steeled herself. The first two businesses had no jobs but the third, an ice
cream shop, needed staff. The boss asked her to come in for a trial the following day.
My daughter had that part-time job for 18 months and quickly came to love the work
environment and earning her own money. When the pandemic struck, she qualified for
Job Keeper because she’d been in the role for longer than a year.
With a growing number of people aged between 15 and 24 now referred to as NEETs,
meaning they are not involved in education, employment or training, not only does the
country have a major productivity issue on its hands but also a capability crisis. With
youth unemployment hitting 10.5 per cent, a generation is rapidly becoming
disconnected from work and study.
This worklessness, also mirrored in the UK, is a “disaster”, according to youth
psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg. As he says: “The whole life trajectory of these kids is
badly altered, their social participation is reduced, their networks are reduced and they
become dependent on their families.”
But, as parents, there’s plenty we can do to prevent our kids descending into this spiral
of helplessness and hopelessness. Here’s three things I think made a difference:
Stop accommodating
Growing up with a mum who was a teacher, my brothers and I were only allowed a day
off school if we were genuinely sick. And by genuinely sick that meant lying in bed all
day without television or games. As Mum rationalised, if we had a day off she had to
have one too which meant letting down a classroom of kids. It’s a work ethic I inherited
and there was no such thing as “pulling a sickie”. I wasn’t sympathetic to mental health
days either, rationalising that my kids had plenty of holidays and if they needed down
time they should take it at the weekends.
As psychologist Michael Hawton has told me, today’s parents too often “accommodate”
their kids’ anxiety or reluctance, enabling them to drop out. He says while it’s important
to empathise, we mustn’t capitulate because it doesn’t serve them. Instead of giving in
or turning a blind eye to their truancy, he says it’s important we mirror back to them that
though anxious or reluctant, they are capable of attending to school. It’s the same with
school camps and sports.
Get a job
It’s not just me who thinks part-time jobs are important. Australia’s former Chief Scientist
Alan Finkel, one of the nation’s most intelligent people, championed part-time work as a
stepping stone to a successful life.
He said a solid academic background, coupled with life skills, was critical for ensuring a
great career path. Skills such as resilience, clear thinking and collaboration were of
value, and could be achieved by working a part time job at a fast-food chain such as
McDonalds or volunteering.
I’d go even further. Having a job creates confidence and independence. Working
alongside others equips you for the world, not just the classroom. In fact, I’ve rarely
seen anything as pathetic as a mother paying her son to study rather than taking the job
in the surf shop he badly wanted. “He’s got all his life to work,” she said, insisting that
his grades were more important. I know the kid. He’d have managed both.
Ask questions
Being inquisitive is an essential part of being a journalist but I recognised long ago that
being able to converse in any situation is a superpower. So I taught my kids that asking
someone about themselves not only encourages connection but makes you an
excellent friend. Occasionally it can backfire – my youngest still laughs about asking a
family friend about his banking job and finding herself stuck for the next hour – but now
in her 20s and working in PR she sees the value. Today’s kids may be tech savvy and
conversant online but they’re insular and loathe speaking face-to-face. Many refuse to
go into a shop to buy an item in real life or order a takeaway pizza by phone. As parents
we have to counter their nervousness by creating opportunities for conversation.
Finally, we know adolescents are challenged with record levels of mental health issues
which can disrupt not only their competency but the trajectory of their lives. All the more
reason to get in early.
In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently warned that the nation’s youth were in
danger of becoming a “lost generation” with youth unemployment increasing to 15.3%,
up from 14.8% a year ago.
The issues are manifold but anything we can do as parents to stem the growing tide of
NEETs is valuable – both for them and society as a whole.
Do you agree? Leave a comment or email education@news.com.au
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