By Mikayla van Loon
Attracting young people into the workforce has become somewhat of a task for employers given the current job market.
But the mix and mingling of employers and employees at events like the Yarra Ranges Youth Career Expo on Tuesday 18 July still prove to have overwhelming benefits for those on both sides of the market.
Outer Eastern Local Learning Employment Network (OELLEN) partnership manager Brooke Young said traditionally it was always more challenging to engage exhibitors for such events.
“We’ve run these events over the last couple of years and have seen very strong changes in demand from employers to participate in events,” she said.
“A few years ago we might have struggled to get an employer to dedicate an evening, particularly when they’ve had a full busy day of work to come along and promote both their industry and their business.”
Although recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures showed an historically low 3.7 per cent unemployment rate in the state, with 123,600 Victorians finding work over the last year, Brooke said “it’s very much an employee market”.
“It’s been a struggle for employers to get stuff across sectors and so we get a lot more contact from local employers, a lot more engagement from them wanting to come along because they are struggling to recruit in that area,” she said.
“Whereas last year, we might have seen a lot of engagement from young people wanting to get into work that has softened a little bit. What we’re hearing anecdotally is there’s quite a few disengaged young people still staying at home, still not really getting out there post school.”
Brooke said the impact of the pandemic, particularly on teens who may have missed out on completing work experience, apprenticeship training or placement, may have left a lasting delay in their understanding of what they might want to do as a career.
OELLEN is also now seeing a trend of parents attending events or inquiring on behalf of their children to gather options and information.
The Expo is more than just a display of employers, Brooke said with training organisations and experts in resume writing, it’s also about giving young people the confidence to apply for their desired pathway.
While the Expo did have the broader attendance from Workforce Australia, Department of Education and training providers, Brooke said a large representation in the 22 stall holders was the local tourism industry and nurseries.
“[They were] trying to really showcase that it’s not just a job, it’s a career, there’s a whole pathway.
“Particularly, focused on the Yarra Ranges, it’s a striving, world class industry in that region that a lot of young people still don’t realise is on their doorstep.”
Despite registrations for the event being lower than previous years, Brooke and her team were happily surprised by the turnout.
“By the time we got through the day, we had well over 100 registrations from families and then really strong attendance throughout the night and lots of fantastic engagement with our exhibitors.”
If young people missed the Yarra Ranges Expo, OELLEN are still to host the Knox event on 24 August and the Maroondah event on 7 September, with an apprenticeship and traineeship night being held in October as well.
For more information or to register for an upcoming event, go to www.oellen.org.au/events
