Pampered 20-somethings who can’t get a job should
set their sights lower, says Tom Elliot.
Are you aged in your 20s and armed
with a degree yet can’t get a job? The chances are your expectations are set
far too high.
Just because you’ve attended university
doesn’t mean you instantly qualify to be a CEO. Entry-level positions in manual
trades paying a decent wage are out there — so long as you’re prepared to get
your hands dirty.
Unemployment statistics paint an
allegedly grim picture for young Australians. Whereas the overall jobless rate
currently sits well below 6 per cent, twice that proportion of people aged
15-24 can’t find work.
As a consequence the 2016 federal
budget has created a new program entitled “PATH” (Prepare, Trial and Hire)
designed to move young Australians off the dole. The initiative will subsidise
employers who give young people a go at the employment coalface.
Nice idea, but it won’t succeed.
Recently I’ve spoken to several
potential employers who all sing a similar tune.
Entry level jobs in sectors like roof tiling,
painting and decorating, concreting and building are available — but potential
applicants are thin on the ground.
And those young people who do respond
to job ads have a bad habit of sabotaging their prospects.
According to many business
proprietors, Gen Y employees demonstrate some terrible work habits.
These include failing to turn up to
work at the agreed time; staring at their mobile phones for much of the day;
calling in sick when hung-over after a big night; and feigning injury or
fatigue when hard physical labour is required.
Frankly it’s a wonder younger workers
impact the paid-employment numbers at all.
So why are so many 20-somethings afraid
of work? Three institutions are to blame.
First, the family home has become an
unreal refuge from the outside world. Far too many parents overindulge their
precious offspring.
These days it’s not uncommon to see
children aged in their late 20s and early 30s still living with mum and dad.
Such “kidults” enjoy cooked meals
each evening, have their clothes washed and folded and pay rent only when the
entertainment budget allows.
Plenty of excuses are trotted out to
justify this unnatural arrangement: house prices are too high, rents remain
very expensive in nice areas, young Jack/Chloe has a crippling credit card debt
to repay and we’re a loving family who want to remain close. Blah, blah, blah.
The end result is young men or women
unable to fend for themselves beyond the white picket fence.
Second, modern schools hand out
praise far too easily.
When children compete in a running
race, no longer are they awarded medals solely for finishing in the top three.
Rather, all participants are given “achievement” ribbons just for completing
the course.
Such socialistic tokens imbue a false
sense of worth among secondary students who’ve never known failure. Everyone’s
a winner; therefore no one can lose.
The competitive post-school workplace
where only a talented minority receive promotion must generate an enormous
shock.
Third, contrary to popular belief
university isn’t for everyone.
Until the late 1980s possession of a
degree virtually guaranteed its holder a comfortable and reasonably well-paid
white collar job.
This was because tertiary places were
then limited to just one in five high school graduates. Only the most
academically able were awarded a place.
Thanks to well-meaning but misguided
higher education reforms over the past three decades, however, more than 50 per
cent of school leavers now enter the tertiary sector.
As a result, there now exist many
more university graduates than there are appropriate jobs.
Such well-qualified applicants won’t
settle for employment in a manual trade.
After all why should a 22-year-old
graduate with a Bachelor in Business Communications (whatever that means)
strain his-or-her back laying concrete on a building site?
Here are the harsh realities of the
present-day employment market.
Living at home for an extended period
will not assist the transition into independent adulthood; even if it causes a
drop in short-term living standards, departing the family nest will do wonders
for a 22-year-old’s eventual maturity.
Attendance at a good school or
university no longer guarantees a well-paid career.
But a part-time teenage job
delivering papers or flipping burgers suggests a willingness to work that’s
highly sought-after by employers.
And when it comes to manual labour,
be prepared to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in.
Yes, many once-local vocations like
bookkeeping and car-making are now being outsourced to Asia. But basic and
irreplaceable trades like painting, plastering and plumbing remain highly
sought-after.
And the good news is that such
professions don’t require a university degree accompanied by a $50,000-plus
HECS debt.
Finally, the dole should always be
regarded as a last resort for the desperate.
There’s nothing noble about taking
money from fellow citizens while entry-level jobs remain unfilled.
Tom Elliott Herald Sun
May 12, 2016
After some years of our company delivering team and
leadership school programs the first people to educate were teaching staff.
They were shocked that we “don’t compromise” don’t give second chances and we
don’t build elite teams to achieve success. They soon realised this was the
best grounding for real life and a great start for young students setting out
in life.
If you would like to learn more about Canoe Image programs
call Stan for information.
0409 596 840
wwwcanoeimages.com.au
Canoe Images are
based at Mildura and Daylesford Victoria.
