The North East Local Learning and Employment Network's Caitlind Kerr said young people were willing to work and businesses were willing to hire them, but there was a "mismatch of communication" between the two.

"There's a huge gap between the young people knowing where to look and being able to connect with businesses and the businesses themselves knowing where to look for young people," she said.

At the end of last year one in three young people were unemployed or under-employed, but Ms Kerr said NELLEN hoped to connect youth in the Alpine, Towong, Indigo and Wodonga council areas with ongoing jobs through the How Work Works research project.

She said NELLEN wanted to hear from young people aged between 17 and 24, who would be interested in leading the research.

"(The project) looks at the state of youth employment in the areas currently, where it's heading and what government agencies and groups like NELLEN can do to help the situation and support young people to finding work that has longevity," she said.

The program participants would be guided to form research questions for local businesses, interview those businesses and report their findings to a round table of politicians, researchers, North East business owners and other stakeholders to inform policies and build professional contacts for potential employment.

Ms Kerr said NELLEN was looking for 36 young people from any background to take on the project.

"They could be studying, they could be working, they could be under-employed, they could be unemployed or single mums," she said.

'As long as they fall within the age range and they're willing to commit to the project, we're not fussed."

She said participants would receive a $500 stipend and develop their communication, teamwork, organisation and presentation skills.

"It's an opportunity to network with businesses, so we are looking for people who are driven and who want to take this opportunity and run with it," she said.

Ms Kerr said participants would need to commit about 30 hours across the whole research period, which would run from the end of June until August, but the research hours would be flexible.

"If you're interested, give us a call and have a chat because we don't want anyone to feel like they can't participate because of disadvantage or a barrier," she said.

NELLEN can be contacted on (02) 6056 0966.

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