There have been many studies and research about youth in Australia. The nature of the discourse will highlight the recognition of new stage of the life-course between the adolescence and adulthood which reflects the need of youth to achieve independence and to live their way of life. This change has occurred as a result of technological and globalization advances. The perspective basically aligns with the concepts of ‘stages of development’ in psychology. A recent survey offers more in-depth analysis of information concerning conceptualizing youth. The schooling, training and work have been in the spotlight in Australia.

The current approaches recognize the family patterns, education, and work as dominant factors in lives of youth. There is also evidence that suggests the failed transitions because of the same identified approaches as compared to previous generations.

The most common answer according to age group 60 described teens as opinionated, selfish, arrogant, ignorant and egoistical. These answers reflect the bad image of youth in our society. When the same question was being asked from teens, they said they are detached, self-centered, scared, lonely, shallow, naïve, young and inexperienced.

The  age group 22, described adolescents as Naïve, Stubborn, Overindulgent, Fragile and Insecure. The question raises why are they ‘insecure’ at such a tender age?

The school retention rates have increased significantly and recorded highest during the last year. Educational achievements result in a broader, better life prospects for youth and also improve the statistics of the labor market. The trends are suggesting otherwise indicating the need for more attention to work out the deeper challenges of the youth. The findings indicate a drastic change in regards with the labor market for young people during past thirty years. According to Beck’s theory, individuals are being forced to be responsible for the consequences of their own life choices.

This becomes difficult for young people who are still not sure about the direction they want to pursue. The opportunities for the adolescents to work full-time have also declined over past two decades. There is no stability provided to the youngsters in working life. Most of the students consider part-time jobs and training and still are not successful.

The opportunities for training for work have almost deteriorated for adolescents. Internships and training courses are becoming harder to get into. Shockingly, the unemployment rate for adolescents in the labor force is 16.6% which is about 3 times higher compared to all the adult age groups. The rate has not come back to a favorable level compared to global economic downturn which is downright unacceptable. The opportunities of founding a stable full-time paid job even for those who are not studying have become relatively low.

There is part-time work available for youth employment which reflects greater fluidity and insecurity in the professional lives of many teenagers. The youth want to be independent and the percentage seeking work in Australia is becoming higher than last year.

Those youngsters who are not studying, working or getting trained are often from disadvantaged backgrounds, or could be young people having a health problem or disability. They struggle at school and attain low levels of quality education. Young people who are living outside the metropolitan areas are less likely to remain in the school to complete secondary education. The disengagement is common and causes insecurity and in worse cases depression.

The challenging conditions of work, education and life is require us to develop better ways to harness better literacies, capabilities and skills among the youth. With the change in the labor market, stubborn marginalization and long-term employment experienced by many groups, there are few significant questions that need to be addressed: how efficiently are the youth prepared for the increasingly fluid work atmospheres? The competition and skills required for a simple job are going beyond the literacy and there is no resilience left. There should be a routine assessment on youth’s basic academic skills and to help them with employment. Non-governmental organizations are adapting work to develop approaches to begin the support with basic skills, vocational training and help with work experience requirements for disadvantaged groups of youngsters. They are helping young people to emphasize the understanding that their passion is life and lean towards their respective goals in economic, political, medical, and engineering sectors.

References:

Online resources

1. Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) (http://www.fya.org.au/)

2. Generation, Youth and Social Change in Australia. (2015). Journal Of Youth Studies. Retrieved from

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13676260600805713#.Ve_Cq9Kqqkp

3. Five words you would use to describe adolescents (teens)? https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081025163635AAI5Jz9 (accessed on 20/07/2014)

4. Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies (http://www.acys.info/)

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