Are Australian youths facing an unemployment epidemic?

MasterNoob on 27/03/2014 - 15:17

Sunrise released a story detailing that a marketing graduate had applied to over 200 employment opportunities, but could not pass the initial stages of the application process. See more here: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/22196283/unemploy…

While the marketing graduate did not disclose information about her academic performance and the extent that she networked, I think Sunrise raises a valid point. I have older friends who have graduated from a combination of law, engineering and business fields. Many of these students possess distinction averages and find it difficult to enter graduate positions at mid to high tier firms.

What do you think needs to be done?

Education & Work

Comments

  • donbot on 27/03/2014 - 15:28
    +5

    Supply vs Demand… too many graduates, not enough jobs.

    With so many graduates (particularly business/commerce) - why wouldnt businesses be incredibly picky with who they take on? Particularly Marketing - isnt it a really tough nut to try and crack into?

  • CI on 27/03/2014 - 15:39

    I graduated last year. Been looking for a grad job 13 months now. Bach of mech eng with honours. Have applied over 50 places still no luck. If anyone can help me at all in anyway, pm me please. [serious not trolling anyone]

    • nephilim on 27/03/2014 - 18:53

      Why not do the 1-2 year Army reserves deal they have at the moment? pretty sure mech eng is one of the jobs listed.

  • evol on 27/03/2014 - 15:52
    +6

    I facilitate & present grad recruitment events at universities for the company I work for and one trend I have noticed is that a lot of students are very lazy in terms of applying for vacation work or internships when they're in their 1/2/3rd year of degree.

    If you're leaving it to your final year or after you graduate to find a job, then you're doing it wrong.

    Students need to wake up to the fact that the economic climate is not the best now and in order to get a graduate role they should be doing more in the 1-3 years before their expected graduation to get their foot into prospective employers doors, rather than leaving it til too late and then complaining about it after.

    • cwongtech on 27/03/2014 - 16:04
      +1

      students are very lazy in terms of applying for vacation work or internships when they're in their 1/2/3rd year of degree.

      What's the point for first years? Especially for engineering, a first year is meaningless, they know absolutely nothing. Second year - still quite inexperienced… but I think that's the point they should start applying.

      • cloudy on 27/03/2014 - 16:18

        I started work the minute i left high school in my organisation, in their cadetship program.

        Though you are right there is little point, or skills, but its as much as on the job training in any vocation as it is desk training.

        And yes, when you are young, you work for pittance.

        I dare say if min wage for 21yr olds were not so high, more employers may do what mine did, get a cheap admin person cheaply. The gift is both ways.

      • Luminary on 27/03/2014 - 16:23

        Internships/Summer Vac are made for penultimate students but if a company is happy to take you on board for some work experience (even if you're in your first year) then you should take it. On-the-job learning (y).

        • cwongtech on 27/03/2014 - 16:30

          I started work the minute i left high school in my organisation, in their cadetship program.
          Though you are right there is little point, or skills, but its as much as on the job training in any vocation as it is desk training.

          I haven't heard of a cadetship program in engo.. I'm assuming you did commerce?

          but if a company is happy to take you on board for some work experience (even if you're in your first year) then you should take it. On-the-job learning (y).

          Of course, just from a company's perspective, hiring a first year is almost the same as hiring anyone outside (first year's availability would be restricted to when they start uni, a dropout is available full time!)

      • evol on 27/03/2014 - 16:33

        A lot of companies now offer (or are rolling out) programs targeted primarily at 1/2nd years, such as cadetships. Work experience doesn't have to be a full on vacation work/internship program.

        Sure you might know nothing, but getting the exposure and the relationship built with the people at the company may end up netting you a grad job down the track. Especially in engineering, where experience and knowing the right people are very useful.

        • cwongtech on 27/03/2014 - 16:43

          Sure you might know nothing, but getting the exposure and the relationship built with the people at the company may end up netting you a grad job down the track. Especially in engineering, where experience and knowing the right people are very useful.

          I understand that, and of course networking is very useful!

          A lot of companies now offer (or are rolling out) programs targeted primarily at 1/2nd years, such as cadetships. Work experience doesn't have to be a full on vacation work/internship program.

          I've only seen "are you about to start your penultimate year? no? have a pen with our company logo on it.. bye.." at career expos :|

    • blitz on 27/03/2014 - 20:51
      +1

      Students need to wake up to the fact that the economic climate is not the best now and in order to
      get a graduate role they should be doing more in the 1-3 years before their expected graduation to
      get their foot into prospective employers doors, rather than leaving it til too late and then
      complaining about it after.

      With respect, this constitutes a fundamental misunderstanding of the graduate labor market, endemic of how large companies today are devaluing people. Companies control their market for graduates by devaluing skills (e.g. a degree) and requiring experience (e.g. unpaid internships). This gives them a perpetually ready, fresh crop of youth to choose from: keep denying highly skilled students and instead mandate the nebulous 'experience'. This way they get the best of both worlds, and free on the job training for the 'lucky' ones.

      By all means, work hard and play hard while at uni. But don't for a minute sacrifice your education and happiness to wear yourself out in the hope that some giant corp will think something of you in the future.

    • CI on 28/03/2014 - 12:37

      I did the work experience. I did extra curricular activities. I ran conferences at Uni. Now it's done nothing for me. I swear m8 on me mums life it's my name.. Maybe.. :)

  • Luminary on 27/03/2014 - 16:19

    200 applications? If she means she couldn't even get to an online assessment then either that's a really big exaggeration or she must have terrible marks to even pass the minimum requirement which is about 65% your average firm.

    I think I got lucky.. but my university to career path has been.. 3 years Bachelor of Science (including two fails), 1 years Honours research, currently finishing of my Master of Management (1.5 year course) and got hired by a consulting firm in the management consulting division beginning next year. No formal internships or consulting experience. Not trying to brag but hopefully it gives others some hope as I was not very confident about getting into management consulting after one semester of business school.. There's definitely jobs out there so just keep trying is all I can say. Get CV/cover letter reviews and interview practice.

    Apparently the entire graduate recruitment market is really bad at the moment though > http://www.afr.com/p/national/work_space/graduate_recruitmen…

  • CheapCoffee on 27/03/2014 - 17:44

    I know that DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) graduates take more than 6 months after actively seeking work to find their first job at the moment in Australia. There was a recent study released few months ago.

    Not sure it is industry specific though since there have been a steady decrease for last 30+ years. For example, the current minimum wage for Level 1A (new grad) is $43,746 and for Level 4 (20-30 years experience) is $61,877 which is somewhat ridiculous in comparison to North American standards for veterinary surgeons. :(

    Can someone else let me know what the situation is like for MDs and other health industries?

    Edit: I know minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean that you can't find work as a graduate, but I believe it does show how veterinary surgeons valued in terms of supply and demand. Lots of supply with not so much demand leads to decreased valuation.

    • JR63 on 27/03/2014 - 18:59
      +1

      All domestic medical students are currently guaranteed internships after their degrees, but it's been a struggle to ensure that in recent times due to oversupply of students. It's been deemed the "intern crisis".

      The bigger, less widely spoken about (in the media) problem is the lack of specialist training positions. It's getting more and more competitive to get into a training program, and in a few years we're going to have a log jam of junior doctors that can't get into training programs to become specialists we need. We're currently pumping out a lot of medical students, currently being able to give them internships, but after that, it's a problem (and will only get bigger).

      • CheapCoffee on 27/03/2014 - 19:21

        I hope the appropriate association + government take some action in regards to that and don't head towards the way of animal health industry over last couple of decades, or else I wouldn't be surprised if the only people with respectable income will be the clinic owners in future.

    • Doey21 on 27/03/2014 - 21:46
      +1

      Same thing has been happening to intern pharmacists. Wages as low as $17 an hour are present and the post-training wages aren't that much better. With so many more universities chugging out graduates and the same amount of pharmacies open, they can choose to offer meager wages and there will always be someone to take it up.

      At least with medical internship, even though the number of positions were shakey, they (mostly) pay for overtime and yearly wages go up every year according to inflation. But yeah specialist training positions are getting more and more competitive.

  • Almost Banned on 27/03/2014 - 17:52

    I can tell you it is extremely difficult for law grads here in Perth to get articles anywhere.
    Any they have just opened up another Law school to pump more grads into an already saturated market.

    • ozzyoi on 27/03/2014 - 18:09

      even for engineers in IT the job market is quite dull in perth :(

  • juventino on 27/03/2014 - 18:49

    at least they can attempt to apply.

    As an international student, I can't even apply for the majority of vacancies despite having completed a Master degree in Commerce.

    Recruiter : Are you a permanent resident ?

    Me : No, but I am trying to .

    Recruiter : Goodbye

    That's all. They might make an exception in some cases if you have HD average

    So I have to support myself financially by getting other casual and manual jobs which are not hard for me to find until I find a job that is only available for permanent resident and citizens of Australia

    • scrimshaw on 27/03/2014 - 19:11

      I read you there. When I was still an international student on a Visa, getting a job was damn hard as they merely read your resume, ask you about your work rights and then push you out the door.

      Things aren't that much easier as a citizen though! I major in Commerce+Hospitality and can tell you the whole industry is a joke. All the lower end jobs are taken by people much younger than me and with lower wage expectations, and having a high GPA doesn't really help either.

  • StewBalls on 27/03/2014 - 21:32
    +9

    Two words…Purple Cow.

    As a new grad you need to do something to distinguish yourself from the herd of similarly (academically) qualified graduands/graduates! Depending on your industry of course, IMHO that difference can be volunteer work, extra-curricular seminars/study/workshops, related pro-bono or paid work…just something relevant to flesh out a malnourished resume!

    If I'm sitting on an interview panel & we've got 10 candidates, I can tell you the person who's been doing Médecins Sans Frontières, or working for the SMILE Foundation, or some equally noble endeavour will get the nod over the other folks with the same qualification who've just been applying for jobs like crazy expecting their academics to open doors for them!

    The other bit of advice I'd give new grads, don't be afraid to start at the bottom…hell, the number of kids I see expecting to start at the same level as those with years of experience is appalling. Foot in the door folks, that's what it's all about…

  • sifter132 on 28/03/2014 - 08:09

    Some thoughts:
    The supply vs demand thing is right - just SO many applicants for each graduate vacancy. This is the issue with HECS/HELP/whatever…it makes education affordable, helps the masses get a degree etc. but it makes that degree worth less every year, as more and more people get one.

    I wish I'd been advised earlier that it would be tough sledding to differentiate yourself from other graduates. Good marks alone often doesn't cut it. You have to have decent marks AND more. One of the problems is that employment advice is being dispensed by the older generation, who found their degree was almost an automatic job, given the supply/demand of the time. They think graduates who can't find a job are lazy, rather than making helpful suggestions like trying to get an internship during your degree, or focusing on your extra-cirricular activities to boost your employability.

    I have 2 degrees I'm sitting on: marketing and accounting, and I've barely used either in the approx. 10 yrs since I've finished. Found it difficult to get interviews, and I didn't stick in the couple of positions that I managed to find. My current attitude is that I just don't see the pull of getting a higher paying office job for the hoops I have to jump through to get there. My ambition to climb the corporate ladder has never been lower!

    • cwongtech on 28/03/2014 - 09:44
      +1

      I have 2 degrees I'm sitting on: marketing and accounting

      Isn't that one degree with two majors..?

  • cdaddy on 28/03/2014 - 09:37

    I struggled to find a part time job as a uni student would imagine it to be 1000x times worse when graduated

  • scotty on 31/03/2014 - 09:33
    +2

    Just watched that Sunrise piece. Looks like a bit of connection certainly helps (especially with Kochie). I've graduated from uni for over 15 years now, and other than my first internship job (which I also posted 100+ letters/resume) they are all through connections (friends, old classmates, old colleagues). Yes even for software development gigs.

    The old saying is true — it's not what you know but who you know. So don't waste your 3/4 years of uni course just studying, working at Maccas and browsing OzBargain. It's a great place to know people and build connections.

  • Cyb3rGlitch on 31/03/2014 - 20:46
    +2

    Applying for a job is easy, and means very little. Get out there and go to industry meetups if you want to actually land a job. When unemployed, your job is to find a job - that's an 8 hour day. Otherwise start your own business.

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