Youth unemployment decreased significantly in the Murray region last year, but more must be done to ensure young people don't continue to fall through the cracks.
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NSW Business Chamber Murray and Riverina regional manager Andrew Cottrill said the youth unemployment rate in Murray, which covers a vast region from Albury to the SA border and up to Hay, had plummeted from 22 per cent to 12 per cent.
Mr Cottrill said they were still investigating what factors had played a role in the swift change, but said even with the drop unemployment remains an issue.
Youth unemployment rate in the Riverina was 14.3 per cent, while the state average is 10.3 per cent.
"The real issue here in both regions is that we have been well and truly above the state average for a long time," he said.
Mr Cottrill said unemployment was often challenging psychologically for young people especially for those from difficult socio-economic backgrounds or people facing prejudices.
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"When young people leave school without a defined career path they tend to isolate themselves, they tend to disengage from employment and fall into a cycle of support payments," he said.
"These people can find it hard to access the sort of training or qualification needed to start a career so it's really a matter of catching young people and giving them an opportunity to participate in training for a meaningful career….rather than them feeling disengaged and rejected from society."
Mr Cottrill said the chamber was rallying politicians and candidates ahead of the NSW election and hopes they commit to a $100 million re-engagement fund and a system revamp to create more interaction between schools, education providers and employers.
He said it was important to examine region-specific skill shortages. He said a survey of 200,000 disengaged young people showed 48 per cent of participants did not feel they had received adequate careers advise, and of that 22 per cent felt pushed towards university.
"We need focused and specific action to turn [the unemployment rate] around," he said.
"We want to harness the knowledge and strength of industry and employers to work with schools career advisers to give young people a taste of the job possibilities and skills needed in their region."
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