Generation Success summit told work experience needs an overhaul

OVERHAUL work experience — that’s the “overriding theme” to emerge from a historic youth employment summit with the Prime Minister.

OVERHAUL work experience — that’s the “overriding theme” to emerge from a historic youth employment summit.

The summit, held in Sydney yesterday, brought together the Prime Minister and top executives from some of the nation’s biggest companies. But it was the young workers who set the agenda, nominating work experience as a key issue.

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Kurt Berry, 17 — a trainee at transport giant Toll who got a start after taking part in the Beacon Foundation’s highly regarded program — said: “One of the things that helped me get my first job is the work experience I did while I was at school.”

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His boss, and others employing more than 430,000 Australians, responded by saying work experience needed to be ongoing, structured and “real”.

“The government I lead is determined to create the best possible environment to provide work and to find work” ... Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Toll divisional director Mal Grimmond said: “There’s nothing more deflating than turning up ... and doing filing for a week.”

Former Business Council of Australia (BCA) president Tony Shepherd, who ran the summit, said “real work experience seems to be an overriding theme”.

Programs such as Beacon needed to be made more widely available, participants said. Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien — the driving force behind the summit and broader Generation Success (Gen S) youth employment initiative — is due to meet with Beacon next week.

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Participants also raised ideas such as starting work experience earlier, as happens in other countries, and pairing companies and schools so students can do a vocational unit.

The BCA’s Mr Shepherd said big businesses needed to measure their levels of youth employment, set goals and report results.

Woolworths’ Mr O’Brien said it would double the number of young employees in its Fastrack skill-building scheme and lift its employment target for next financial year by 3200. Woolworths already employs nearly 200,000 people.

Building on its work establishing Generation Success, News Corp Australia CEO Julian Clarke said it would launch a campaign across its national community newspaper network to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to hire young people.

Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott described Generation Success as a “terrific initiative” then said: “I want to ensure you all — workers, employers, would-be workers and would-be employers — the government I lead is determined to create the best possible environment to provide work and to find work.”

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Parliamentary secretary for education Scott Ryan asked summit participants to tell the government how it could make it easier to employ people.

Mr Shepherd said it could make sure training programs matched employer job needs.

COMMENT BELOW: How can it be made easier to employ young people