Youth job prospects in town could be ‘better than Melbourne'

By Lachlan Durling

Jan 17, 2021

Young jobseekers in the Loddon Campaspe area could be better off than their metropolitan counterparts, according to new research.

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The hyper-local study is the first step to discovering career pathways for young people in the region, with more than 25 major regional employers and 250 young people interviewed throughout the past year.

The aim of the initiative was to discover just what job seekers and employees were looking for, with four Local Learning and Employment Networks commissioning researcher Jeanette Pope.

The research found that despite COVID-19, over the long term, many local industries were growing and that there was a diverse range of entry level work available for young people.

Most encouragingly, young people’s interests also often matched the characteristics that employers said they were looking for in new staff.

With most employers reporting they were willing to train people on the job, the research suggests young people in Loddon Campaspe could actually be facing better employment opportunities than their counterparts in Melbourne.

The research identified five practical steps that governments and local leaders could take to help young people find local employment, including adopting a ‘jobs-first’ approach.

“Employers told us they are facing skill shortages, and young people said they needed experience to get work,” Ms Pope said.

“So, if we fast-track projects that provide young people with experience in tight labour market areas, we get a win-win outcome.

“We could also create new gap-year internships for young people whose lives have been affected by COVID-19, which could give employers access to the skills their businesses need and give young people meaningful work experience.”

Ms Pope said the study also identified five practical things young people could do to take advantage of current employment opportunities.

“One simple step is to rethink your CV. Experience is the main thing that employers look for on a CV but the employers we spoke to said previous experience in their industry wasn’t that necessary,” Ms Pope said.

“They said volunteering, community or sporting involvement, or evidence of being able to see a task through to its conclusion, was just as important.”

The full report is available at under the ‘publications’ tab.ccllen.com.au