The Unemployment Menace in Australia and Why the Government Should Act - Report Example

Policy Submission Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Date of Submission: The Unemployment Menace In Australia And Why the Government Should Act 1.1. What is unemployment? Unemployment is a state that happens when someone who is able and capable of working, searches for a job but unable to find one that suits him/her. The state of unemployment is a major criteria that is used to measure how health the economy of a country is. To know about unemployment, experts and stakeholders often use the unemployment rate as a measurement criteria. 1.1.1. Who we are Melvin's Mercy Agency is United Kingdom agency based in Australia's capital city of Canberra. The agency started its operations in Australia in 2012. Our offices are situated in the heart of Canberra City. 1.1.2. What we do In our organization, we deal with the youth and we take the issue of unemployment seriously given the fact that the unemployment rate in Australia keeps on growing with each coming year with data showing that the rate has been increasing since 1978 (The World Bank, 2017). 1.2. Key Components of the Policy Issue 1.2.1. Aim and Purpose The agency helps young Australians; both men and women, who have completed their education but have no means to secure employment due to limited chances.  We give them guidance on how they can better their skills and talents and use them to earn a living even without being permanently employed (Smith, 2017). We regularly hold training sessions where we guide our participants down the career path. We make them understand that despite having qualified in the academic world, chances of being employed are minimal and that they have to device ways of earning an honest living from the skills they have (Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare, 2013). Over the past five years, we have managed to train over 6,000 young men and women. Of the total, 1000 of them got employed in various organizations including the government, 4,000 of then started their own businesses and the rest decided to go back to school to further their education (Australian Government, 2011). In the five years, we have been in Australia, we have realized that unemployment is a thorny issue. Each year, institutions of higher learning are channeling out young people into the job market that is already saturated. Most of the graduates who have failed to secure meaningful employment have become desperate with most of them joining criminal gangs around the country with higher chances of them joining terror groups that are increasingly luring young people with hefty cash (Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare, 2013). We feel that the government of Australia has not done enough to arrest the situation. We feel that there are other various channels that can be used to address the issue of unemployment in Australia but they have not been considered. This policy submission shows how unemployment is a major problem whether high or low in Australia through how the young people among others have been affected and led into drug abuse among other problems. The report depicts how unemployment is impacting the general economy of the country, why the government should intervene and it also gives recommendations on how the government can help in addressing the problem (Smith, 2017). 1.3. Assessment and Analysis of Unemployment in Australia According to a report released by World Bank (2017), the rate of unemployment in Australia stood at 5.7 percent in 2016. The majority of those who are unemployed according to the report are the youth. According to the report, majority of the young people who are unemployed in Australia are graduates from higher institutions of learning (Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare, 2013). Statistics from the report indicate that the unemployment rate in Australia has been increasing over the years though not reaching an alarming rate. The Australian unemployment rate, however, is far much higher than that of Bahrain which stood at 1.3 percent in the year 2016. Comparing the economic growth of Australia and Bahrain, Australia stands out as an economic hub. This implies that economically, Australia is established and that there are some few things that are not being done right to address the issue of unemployment (Trading Economics, 2017). Some of the young people have opted for drug abuse due to desperation. Most of those affected by drugs are from the cities, Canberra included. Desperation for jobs and poverty has driven them into using drugs such as cocaine, cigarettes and alcohol. A report released by NSW Health in 2014, National Drug Household Survey of 2013, indicated that drug abuse among the youth in Australia had increased tremendously. The report provides evidence that the youth prevalence in smoking behaviors has been increasing over the years to 15.9 in the year 2013 from 14.2 in 1995. This accounts only for the reported and researched cased (Health Stats: NSW, 2014). The uptake of Alcohol among the youth aged between 12 and 17 increased from 64 percent to 72 percent between 2010 and 2013. According to this report, the young people who are abusing the drugs are those who have completed school but could not get a meaningful employment to meet their needs and they take up drugs due to desperation (Australian Government, 2011). According to a report released by Trading Economics, Australian Unemployment Rate 1978-2017, there was a slight improvement though as the country moved toward 2017. The report says that Australia’s unemployment rate is usually adjusted seasonally and that it unexpectedly fell to 5.7 percent in the month of April 2017 from 5.9 percent unemployment rate recorded during the month of March this year (The World Bank, 2017). The report says that the April rate was below the market estimates which had been placed 5.9 percent. This percentage for the month of April was the lowest since January 2017. According to the report, the Australian economy added 37,400 jobs with the number of unemployment declining by 19,100. Unemployment rate in the country averaged at 6.91 percent as recorded from the year 1978 until 2017 with the year 1992 recording the highest rate in history of Australia at 11.20 percent (Trading Economics, 2017). Every election year, politicians in Australia have often used the unemployment issue to their advantage. They have been using the issue as their campaigning tool, promising desperate youth luxurious jobs if they get them elected. The moment they are elected, they forget every promise they made, leaving the young men and women to fend for themselves. No single government has been able to fully address the issue of unemployment in the country and we feel that if the situation is not arrested soon enough, it stands like a time bomb that will go off any time (World Economic Forum, 2017). A report by the World Economic Forum (2017) stipulating that the unemployment rate will decrease in the world generally. This mainly includes the young people in the world, where about 450 million unemployed people will get employment. However, the growth will not occur spontaneously, but constantly over a period of about 20 years from 2015. The growth can only happen if the economic condition of the working environment is improved. Countries that do not improve the employment policies will face challenges of increased alcohol and drug use/ abuse among the youths and others representing a demographic vulnerability in the countries. The unemployment policy is an important factor in the prevention of drug abuse in any country (Health Stats: NSW, 2014). 1.4. The Proposed Policy Position and Argument As Melvin’s, we feel like the government of Australia has a big role to play in making sure that the unemployment rate in the country is brought down. In this paper, we have given recommendations on what we feel are the possible remedies for unemployment in Australia. In addressing this issue, the government should put in mind the economic implications the unemployment is causing to the nation. A nation that has too many people who depend on it cannot prosper (Australian Government, 2011). We hope that the recommendations given in this policy will be adhered to by the government of the Australia for the improvement of the economy and for the wellbeing of the citizens. 1.5. Recommendations We would like to present some recommendations that we as an agency feel are the remedies for the unemployment issue in Australia. The recommendations are as shown and outlined below: 1. Changing the education curriculum. The education curriculum in Australia should be changed as the first step to addressing the unemployment issue. The current curriculum is to blame for increased cases of unemployment in the country. Most institutions of higher learning in the country are offering theoretical courses other than practical courses that are applicable in real life situations. Australia needs an education curriculum that is practical, that will teach entrepreneurs on how to invest. Australia needs a system that will teach the young people on how to create jobs and not having to wait for others to create them for them. The government, through the Ministry of Education, in conjunction with others stakeholders should address this matter with urgency because Australia is increasingly getting doctors who cannot treat, teachers who cannot teach and engineers who cannot build anything (Australian Government, 2011). 2. Focus on online jobs. The world is changing in terms of technology and so is the job market. There are a lot of amazing employment opportunity on online platforms that have gone unutilized by many Australian youth. There is need for the government to set up a mechanism that will see young people in Australia embrace online platforms, not only to socialize but to their advantage in terms of seeking employment. There are many jobs that are found online such as online marketing among other social interaction pages. There are many platforms also in Australia that are helping young people use their skills to earn a living but most young people are not aware of them (Australian Government, 2011). 3. The agricultural sector. Australia has a lot of arable land that is lying into waste without being fully utilized. Most young people in Australia have been made to think that agriculture is the business of the illiterate, of the people who stay in the villages and, therefore, not suitable for the elites. The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture should set up a program that would train the young people on the importance of agriculture and how they can use it to earn a living (Australian Government, 2011). 4. Improvement of infrastructure as well as conducting civic education. Infrastructure is key to an economic development. The government should improve the state of infrastructure in the country. This will attract investors who will come into the country, set up businesses and create employment for the young people. 1.6. Conclusion Unemployment rate in Australia now stands at 5.7 percent according to statistics for April. This is greatly affecting the economy of the country given the fact that majority of the unemployed are young people. As an agency, we identified some of the remedies that we think can help solve the problem. Some of the remedies that we have recommended include: A change in the education curriculum Enlightening young people to focus on online jobs and opportunities. Government to enhance the agricultural sector and Improving the infrastructure across the country. We hope that the policies submitted in this paper will be adhered to and implemented. 1.7. References Australian Government, 2011. Australian Teachers Leadng Curriculum Change. Professional Learning Flagship Program. AITSL, pp. 1-6 Retrieved from: https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/1106_aitsl_interactive_pdf_prf11. Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare, 2013. State Library NSW: Drug and alcohol information for PDHPE students. Secondary students use of alcohol and drugs. [Online] Available at: http://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/content.php?pid=383178&sid=3160732 [Accessed 17 5 2017]. Health Stats: NSW, 2014. The Health of Children and Youn People in NSW. [Online] Available at: http://www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au/Indicatorgroup/CHOReports [Accessed 17 5 2017]. Smith, W., 2017. PerCapia: Unemployment Policy in Australia. [Online] Available at: http://percapita.org.au/research/unemployment-policy-australia/ [Accessed 17 5 2017]. The World Bank, 2017. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate). [Online] Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS [Accessed 17 5 2017]. Trading Economics, 2017. Australia Unemployment Rae. [Online] Available at: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/unemployment-rate?continent=europe [Accessed 17 5 2017]. World Economic Forum, 2017. The Global Risks Reports 2017; 12th Edition. Insight Report, Volume 12, pp. 1-70. Read More