Page 1028 - Week 04 - Thursday, 18 June 1992
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The challenge in creating such a system is to ensure that regional economic needs are properly recognised and that the resources available to a national system are equitably distributed. Clearly the issue is complex, and it may be necessary to put in place interim or transitional arrangements which would facilitate the creation of a national system. Nevertheless, Ms Follett has indicated to me that she feels that there is a real commitment on the part of all heads of government to an improved system which will bring benefits both for students, many of whom are young, and for the Australian economy as a whole.
During the Youth Ministers Council Ms Follett was provided with information about the youth conservation corps. This program is conducted by the South Australian Government. It provides vocational opportunities for young unemployed people to participate in conservation and heritage projects of benefit to the wider community. Most importantly, the young people involved gain accreditation through TAFE during the program. Ms Follett has instructed her department to investigate the youth conservation corps program in more detail, to assess the feasibility of it being implemented in the ACT.
Members will recall that in January this year the Chief Minister established the Economic Priorities Advisory Committee of the ACT, EPACT, to provide broad-based, independent advice to the Government on the formulation of economic, industry and employment policy. The Chief Minister is happy for me to say on her behalf that it has been an extremely successful initiative. As its first priority, the Chief Minister requested the committee to address the problem of youth unemployment in the ACT. After extensive consideration by the committee, the chairperson of EPACT, Professor Fred Gruen, has recently submitted EPACT's report entitled "The ACT Youth Labour Market". The committee has undertaken a thorough analysis of youth employment and unemployment in the broader context of the ACT labour market as a whole and has provided a range of recommendations. The report notes that job generation is a fundamental issue for the Government and for the community as a whole and that cooperation between all sections of the community - notably unions, business and government - is necessary during a period when all areas of the labour market are under pressure.
EPACT has the view that in the longer term the overall supply of jobs, for youth and others seeking employment, is dependent on increasing economic activity through the growth of a vigorous private sector. It also recommends that government needs to take a lead role and work closely with unions and business to facilitate economic growth, particularly in areas where there are the highest returns for employment generation. Whilst EPACT identifies a number of specific issues relating to youth which need to be tackled, the general conclusion is that the best approach to reducing youth unemployment is to promote overall job growth. This the Government supports.
In relation to youth, EPACT argues that there are particular issues surrounding two categories. The first comprises youth looking for part-time vocational and non-vocational jobs. They are some two-thirds of unemployed youth in the ACT. The second comprises youth looking for full-time vocational jobs, and they account for one-third of unemployed youth. The majority of those youth seeking part-time employment are in further education and are seeking non-vocational employment for income supplementation. For these youth it is availability of
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