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New study gives young people a voice on what they need to succeed post-school

Media releases

12 September 2022

A new and ongoing study by The Smith Family is providing direct insights from hundreds of young people experiencing disadvantage on their post-school pathways. These include both the enablers and challenges they face to participating in work and further study, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pathways, Engagement and Transitions (PET) study is helping to build an understanding of how young people experiencing disadvantage can be better supported with their future careers while they are at school, and during the important post-school transition period. The longitudinal three-year study is following two cohorts of young people across 2021, 2022 and 2023. The cohorts are students who were in Year 10 or Year 12 in late 2020 and participating in The Smith Family’s long-term educational scholarship program, Learning for Life.

The initial findings are from the 2021 survey of 1,500 young people in the Year 12 cohort, and in-depth interviews with 38 of them. Three in four of those surveyed were engaged in work and/or study in their first year after leaving school. Just over half were working and/or studying 35 hours or more per week, with a further quarter involved in part-time work or study.

Many of the young people, including 50 percent of those working part-time, wanted to work more hours and many of those in work - 39 percent - had looked for a new job in the four weeks prior to responding to the survey. This highlights the unstable employment situation young people are navigating.

Of the 25 percent who were not yet in work or study, most were looking for work or volunteering. A small group who were not in work or study and not looking for work (seven percent overall), cited having a health or disability issue, planning to study, or lacking the resources needed to look for work, as reasons for this.

Young people identified COVID-19 as a major challenge during their final year of school and for their post-school engagement in work or study. Other issues impacting their post-school pathways were mental health (which 30 percent of the young people reported experiencing), limited options in regional areas, and being the first in their family to participate in post-school study.

The Smith Family’s Head of Research and Advocacy, Anne Hampshire, said while COVID-19 had an obvious impact on young people’s ability to navigate post-school options, it’s part of a longer story for young Australians.

“In July 2022, youth unemployment and underemployment remained high at seven percent and 15 percent respectively. These rates are not merely a feature of the pandemic but have been double that of the overall working population for over a decade.”

“COVID has exacerbated the employment challenges facing young people, who are more vulnerable to entering the labour market in times of uncertainty. These challenges are particularly acute for young people experiencing disadvantage,” she said.

Another common theme in the study was that many young people experiencing disadvantage wanted more comprehensive and personalised career advice to support their post-school transition. Eighty six percent remembered getting careers support at school, with only just over half indicating it was helpful, 35 percent unsure if it was, and 11 percent saying it was not useful at all.

I think because our school never really provided career counselling, right now a lot of my friends from school, they’re currently dropping out of their degree or changing…a lot of them are just not happy with what they chose - Rabia

Young people also wanted greater access to mentors, internships and opportunities to experience the world of work while at school, as they saw this as helping them identify or refine their post-school pathway.

Work experience was for one week…it really opened my eyes to how IT would be in actual work settings which solidified my decision of doing software engineering. That was what shaped up my thinking - Sahil

Anne Hampshire said touchpoints with the world of work are crucial for young people to help them complete school and identify post-school pathways.

“We need business, not for profits, school communities and further education and training institutions to work together, perhaps with the support of intermediaries, to re-think how we prepare young people for their life post school in a way that is of value to them and to their future employers.”

“Supporting young people experiencing disadvantage to make positive post-school transitions is critical for their longer-term life outcomes and the contribution they can make to Australia’s economic and social wellbeing. We all benefit from this. With the right, targeted support, we can help all young people to thrive post school,” said Ms Hampshire.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Subsequent publications from the PET study will examine the longer-term experiences of both the Year 10 and Year 12 student cohorts. For more on the study findings, including further quotes from the in-depth interviews click here.

Media enquiries:

Naomi Kaplan, Media Advisor, The Smith Family | 0411 758 596 | naomi.kaplan@thesmithfamily.com.au
Caitlin Dickson, Media Advisor | 0466 955 633 | caitlin.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au

Media contacts:

Andrew Dickson | National Media Manager (National) - 0421 285 529 | andrew.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au
Carla Horton | Senior Media Advisor (QLD & WA) - 0423 618 776 | carla.horton@thesmithfamily.com.au
Reid Jermyn | Media Advisor (VIC, SA & NT) - 0412 803 566 | reid.jermyn@thesmithfamily.com.au
Ben Chenoweth | Senior Media Advisor (NSW, ACT & TAS) - 0413 346 934 | ben.chenoweth@thesmithfamily.com.au

The Smith Family is a national children’s education charity that helps young Australians experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves through harnessing the power of education. We partner with around 800 Australian schools and work with over 162,000 children and young people experiencing disadvantage access our education support programs to help them overcome . For more information, visit thesmithfamily.com.au