Here is the latest edition of YouthMoves – a news-sheet for people interested in youth issues in Australia

WELCOME

Welcome to the latest edition of YouthMoves, a newsletter for those who work with and want to understand Young Australians.   YouthMoves exists to give ‘snatches’ of youth news, info and resources relevant to busy people relating to young people.  

What’s in this issue?

-     What will they face?  Understand the new job market for teens

-         Signs

-         Top Tip to Get Teens Talking

-         How to

-         PLUS find out about useful youth resources

-         PLUS find out about upcoming youth events

-         **Innovate Special** Special Counselling Deal

-         Our contact details

-         How to unsubscribe OR join up friends and collegues to this newsletter

If you would like to see the back issues of Youth Moves log onto our website www.innovateonline.net

If I can assist your work with young people in any way (by offering counselling services, speaking/training or just answering a question about youth issues), please feel free to phone me on 8357 1711, or email innovateks@chariot.net.au.

WHAT WILL THEY FACE?

Understanding the new job market for incoming teens.

The older the teenager, the more worried they get about their post-school life.  They often don’t know what kind of career they want, they are not sure whether they will be able to find a job they like, and they don’t know if they will get into a course of education that suits them.

The good news is this is one area in which they will usually accept our help.  Studies show that teenagers do care about what we think about their career ideas.

In order to help teens however, we have to know what we are talking about.

The employment market has changed dramatically since we were entering the workforce.  Unless we know something about these changes, we instantly lose credibility with teenagers when discussing employment with them.

It’s like our parents telling us they know “modern” music, and then referring to Elvis in the same breath.

Here’s a few key changes we might want to keep in mind.

*Increased unemployment*  Finding a job can’t be taken for granted for young people anymore.  30% of 15-19 year olds are currently looking for full time work.  Early school leavers are most at risk.  We need to be encouraging young people to stay in education (school or TAFE) until they have a firm job offer.

*More casual and part time jobs*  Here is the new norm:  People are being employed for short periods of time, to complete specific projects, or employed on a part time basis.   This is not all bad news.  Instead of being negative when we speak to teenagers about casual work, we can remind them that this kind of work offers young people the opportunity to learn different skills in a variety of different environments. 

*More flexible working environments*  Working from home, telecommuting, working more convenient hours – these are all changes for the positive in today’s employment market that teenagers can look forward to. 

*Longer working hours*  In Australia, we are all working longer hours.  The “9-5” job is dying out.   We need to help young people start to think about how they will prioritise their time, and to help them identify their values.  Young people tend to value relationships above money, but that often changes when the financial pressures of adult life become real to them.

*Increasingly “professional” jobs* Almost all of the job growth in the last 50 years has been in the professional area.  These are the jobs which revolve around knowledge and information.  All other things being equal, young people with the best chance of getting work, are those the with most education.  This doesn’t necessarily mean university.  It might mean TAFE, or private college courses.  But teens who drop out of school at Year 10 with no other pathway, more often than not, will struggle to find meaningful employment.

We need to keep up to speed with the new employment and education market if we are to help teenagers in this area.  A great place to start to get resources is a school’s career counsellor, or the job guide on the internet – www.jobguide.dest.gov.au

An interesting conference about spirituality and its place in Youth Suicide is coming soon:  Held in Brisbane in June:  interested?  Check out www.suicidepreventionaust.org

Young film-makers might be interested in submitting their short films/scripts ASAP to The Short Festival (sponsored by Loki Enterprises).  Call Garth on 0408 491 618 for details.  The festival is going to be held in Bondi in June.

Noise is a national media based festival to promote young artists/musicians/actors and other creative young people.   Noise has media connections across Australia and wants to promote young creative people throughout October 2003.  For info ring 1800 003 552 or go to www.noise.net.au

Applications from international youth 14-18 years are sought for adventure challenge in Canada July 2003.  Youth participate in physical and mental challenges and discuss global issues.  Info and applications – www.lifeweb.org

FORUM –

Dear Kirrilie.  The teenagers in my class are very aware of youth suicide and depression.  Should I talk to my class about this issue?  How do I go about it? – Concerned

Dear Concerned.  A recent survey indicated that many teenagers put youth depression and youth suicide as one of their top worries.  It is important to clarify this issue however.  Most young people are not depressed (only 5% of teenagers at any one time meet the full criteria for a depressive episode) and it is very rare for a teenager in Australia to suicide (less than 0.00016% will do so).  Youth depression and suicide is a serious issue that as a society we need to address, but I believe that our preoccupation with this problem (partly via media reports) is overblown.  Young people pick up on this, and also, are generally more concerned than they need to be.  We need to reassure young people that although some people do get depressed, and some do suicide, this is not common.

Having said this, feeling down and overwhelmed by life is a common experience for teenagers.  It is certainly worth addressing these feelings in the classroom.  I suggest you talk about “What to Do When Life Hurts”.  Get teenagers talking about the kinds of problems teenagers face, the emotions they experience when these problems arise and the kinds of things people do when they are hurting.  As a class:  come up with lists of positive coping strategies, brainstorm about why people often don’t use those coping strategies and  identify ways of overcoming barriers to using these strategies.  They could act out role plays of people actually using positive coping strategies.  I run a program called Parachute, which helps teens deal with tough times, before they occur.  For more info about this program, go to the site at www.innovateonline.net 

Best Wishes.  Kirrilie

RESOURCES

What kinds of effects does pornography have on teens?  Download a helpful discussion paper at www.tai.org.au/WhatsNew_Files/WhatsNew/DP52sum.pdf

A positive, fun website for girls in Year 7-9 is www.girlpower.gov/ It is sponsored by the US Dept Health

A helpful resource book for beginning teachers, from the University of Melbourne – has discussion ideas, practical materials and links.  Only $17 from The Youth Research Centre, go to www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/EPM/EPSSbook/

Recent surveys show our knowledge of Hepatitis C is poor.  Given that there are over 210,000 Australians with Hep C, many of them young people, it is worth getting info from the Australian Hepatitus Council, ph. 026232 4257 or going to www.hepatitisaustralia.com

Want to expand teenagers’ knowledge of worldwide human rights issues?  Need some info yourself? Go to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2003 for assessment of human rights practices in 58 countries: www.hrw.org/wr2k3/

INNOVATE SPECIAL

We are currently offering a SPECIAL on counselling services for teens.  For the month of May, all new clients will receive 25% off their initial session.  Conditions apply.  Ring 8357 1711 for details of this special!

Produced by Kirrilie Smout, Psychologist and Professional Speaker specialising in Australian Youth Issues. Kirrilie is available for keynote presentations, training, counselling/assessment of young people, and offering comment on youth issues.For information please contact Innovate Psychology and Education:  phone 8357 1711 or go to www.innovateonline.net

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