Mission Australia’s Youth Survey is the nation’s largest online annual ‘temperature check’ of teenagers aged between 15 and 19. Run every year, this highly influential survey gives young people the chance to have their say. The Youth Survey tells us what concerns young people, where they turn to for support and how they see the world. The results are of great interest to the media, community and policy makers.
What we learn each year – coupled with the latest research from Australia and beyond – helps shape better support services for young people in urban, rural and remote areas.
Each year Mission Australia survey young people aged between 15 – 19yrs. This year 19,000 young people completed the survey compared with last years 13,600. The results are as follows;
Of the respondents 52% felt there would be barriers to the achievement of their study/work goals, with a greater proportion of females (55.5%) than males (47.5%) reporting the presence of these barriers.
The top three barriers young people saw impacting the achievement of their study/work goals after school were academic ability, financial difficulty and lack of jobs (18.2%, 16.9% and 12.2% respectively). Just over one in ten respondents indicated that they saw family responsibilities and physical or mental health as barriers to the achievement of their study/work goals after school.
The 2015 Youth Survey also found that:
• Alcohol and drugs was the biggest concern facing the nation identified by young people at 27%, followed by equity and discrimination at 25% and the economy and financial matters at 18.9%.
• Young people continue to report coping with stress and school/study problems as their two biggest personal concerns.
The 2015 survey findings aren’t too dissimilar to 2014. A couple of new concerns for young people are Drugs & Alcohol and Equity & Discrimination.
Nepean Community & Neightbourhood Services work predominantly with disadvantaged young people who have multiple barriers to achieving their academic and career goals. Many don’t complete secondary education placing them further behind than the average young person, giving them even more reason to be concerned by the lack of jobs. It is hoped that our policy makers read this year’s report and adjust legislation and career pathways for our most vulnerable.
NCNS take information and trends from schools, government and non-government reports, and directly from the people that we deal with everyday, and continuously ensure that our programs are meeting the real needs of our community.
What is NCNS doing to assist young people in education and work? Earlier this year, the NCNS Youth Team started an Out of School suspension program to help young people keep on top of their classwork whilst on suspension, as many fall so far behind that returning to school is extremely daunting, creating yet another barrier to achieving their goals. This program, in conjunction with our other programs, is giving our young people more options and skills, and hopefully reducing those barriers.
See more at: https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/content/item/634-youth-survey-2015-more-than-half-of-young-people-perceive-barriers-to-success#sthash.pE8Nqpnk.dpuf