WORRYING data reveals Warrnambool’s youth unemployment rate is four times higher than the overall unemployment rate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the region’s peak education and employment boss says it will take a generation to raise expectations around education attainment in the region.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data for December shows the youth unemployment rate, for people aged 15 to 24, for the city was 9.6 per cent compared to the overall unemployment rate of 2.4 per cent.
South West Local Learning and Employment Network chief executive Toni Jenkins said the youth unemployment rate was one of the worst in Australia.
Ms Jenkins said there were a variety of reasons for the low rate but it was believed about 30 per cent of young people were going to university, which left 70 per cent needing another pathway.
She said often young people who took a so-called gap year were in effect taking employment away from young people who planned to stay in Warrnambool.
“We’ve got some kids losing the race and it’s no-one’s fault,” Ms Jenkins said.
“It’s not the job of parents, or the schools or one single entity.
“It’s all our responsibility.”
Ms Jenkins said projects like Beyond the Bell were working to address the high youth unemployment rate.
“We need to do things differently,” she said.
“I think we might also underestimate our community. Every parent wants what is best for their children.”