Page 540 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 1993
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The Department of Employment, Education and Training has sent two officers to work in Mr Fox's office to answer questions and to fast-track applications for assistance. It is a telling testimony to the two well-known men that the project has been put on hold during the Federal election campaign to keep the work for Australia scheme apolitical. In the course of seeking information regarding the scheme, my private secretary spoke to one of the DEET officers involved, who stated that Mr Kelty and Mr Fox were both keen to come to Canberra. There appears to be one sticking point - they need to be asked. Perhaps the Chief Minister has done this and may wish to inform the Assembly, or perhaps the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Berry, may inform the Assembly as to whether she has done so and her thoughts on the project. I do not, for one moment, say that this is the only measure that will help curb unemployment among our young people. The reasons for unemployment are many. However, I feel that there must be ways of giving young people access to the employment they seek. The Kelty and Fox option provides mainstream employment opportunities. Can we explore other ways to create self-sustaining, fulfilling employment for our youth?
The Western Australian city of Gosnells, for example, established an urban art program in 1990. It uses aerosol artists to create murals in what are known as "legals", that is, spaces on buildings and public assets on which they have permission to paint. One of the original artists in that group has gone on to become the project coordinator. His training came from being part of the team that organised all aspects of mural painting. I would envisage that the skills learned in such a position - negotiation skills, purchasing skills, office skills and his obvious talent as an artist - would give him a solid basis for a future career in many fields. He has not had standardised training. He has been through training that depended on his personal experience. The point I am making is that formalised training is often placed at the wrong end of the learning-job cycle.
As a community, Canberra has always achieved high levels of education for its young people. However, as the rest of Australia catches up with our high retention rates our perceived advantage in the employment arena will be comparatively diminished. The answer is not to keep our young people occupied in endless training courses. We must look at the Territory's employment base, at the level of entry expected and, in conjunction with the review of the skills required to do the tasks required, match people and skills to jobs and in many cases start their training from there.
I do not claim to have all the wisdom in the area of unemployment. I do not think any one person or even any one organisation can hope to have answers which will suit all people who are currently unemployed. The Labor Party in New South Wales came up with another strategy which I feel the ACT may benefit from reviewing. That strategy involved the establishment of a task force comprising parliamentarians, community members, business sector representatives and groups representing unemployed people, whose task it was to look at the causes of unemployment. I would envisage that part of the brief for such a body would be to review employment practices, educational standards and availability of courses for business and public sectors and their needs, as well as alternative employment opportunities such as community based projects.
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