Project: Formal and informal networks in rural areas08Jan2015
A rural training organisation in Australia is working to reduce high youth unemployment in regional areas
A Queensland-based rural training organisation is urging beef industry employers to give young workers a chance, in a bid to reduce high youth unemployment in regional areas.
Job creation is a key issue for many Queenslanders in the lead-up to the state election, with youth unemployment reaching 20 per cent in some communities, during the past year.
Russell Toohey manages Rural Industry Training and Extension Ltd (RITE) in Charters Towers; a not-for-profit organisation catering to the needs of the northern cattle industry. He says although graziers have been hit hard by drought in recent times, there's still plenty of work available in the sector.
"We find that during drought times you need just as many workers, if not more, than you do when the seasons are good," he said. "Cattle have to be fed, waters checked, and stock shifted. We've got about 60 young people on our books at the moment, all looking for host employers to take them on in their workplace. So there are a lot of young people actively looking and willing to work on cattle properties, and in the industry, all they need is an opportunity and a start."
Mr Toohey said while many employers are unwilling to invest time and effort into young workers, the industry needs to consider the long-term implications of that approach. "Where else are we going to get the next generation of workers from, if we don't train them up from within the young people that are available at the moment?" he said.
"The average farm worker is now aged 55, and tipped to rise to 65 within 10 years. So there's not enough young people being supported into the industry."