School-to-work transition ‘pivotal’ for economy, but lacking

A recent report has highlighted the challenges students face in the post-school transition into the workplace – a transition that can have huge flow-on effects across the economy.

A new report titled Upgrading the School to Work Transition for Social and Economic Impact highlights a critical gap in the school-to-career transition conducted by Year13 and HedX has found that the Australian skills gap crisis is reportedly costing the country $3.5 billion a year, or $9 million a day.

With the skills gap being a huge issue affecting Australian businesses and the economy, the report claimed that the school-to-work transition is one of the most pivotal phases in a young person’s life and can have a huge effect on young Australians acquiring the correct skills that set them up in the future.

“What starts off as a small problem of a young person finishing school and being unsure of what is best for them becomes a big problem down the track, ultimately costing the economy in lost productivity,” said Year13 co-founder and co-CEO Will Stubley.

“If we want to help young people and make a real economic impact, we need to focus on the school-to-work transition, supporting young people into meaningful work and pathways that last a lifetime.”

It was discovered in the report that 70 per cent of young people experience high levels of anxiety, depression and fear in their final year of schooling due to confusion and uncertainty about their future career paths.

Additionally, only 27 per cent stated that their high school helped them feel prepared for their post-school future.

According to the report, a consideration must be undertaken in potentially legislating career education within the Australian curriculum. The comparison was made with a similar implementation in the US state of North Carolina, where all middle and high school students must complete a career development plan.

As it stands, currently, the national ratio of student to career counsellors is 560:1, highlighting how pivotal changes to this transition could be. As governments and businesses weigh up how to address the skills gap, new strategies and ideas such as this could be a pathway forward.