Funding kick-starts to help young Aussies start a career

The Turnbull Government is set to boost the ArtsReady program with up to $200,000. The funding would assist employers in the arts and culture sectors so young Aussies can become more engaged in internships.

The internships will last for a year. It will prepare young Australians to graduate as job ready for the arts and creative industries.

The additional funding, in its fourth year, will back up ArtsReady to take the final transition to a fully self-funded program. It is delivered by AFL SportsReady and is modelled on their program that provides education and employment opportunities for Australians.

A traineeship serves as a stepping stone for young people. Katherine Miller, a singer and songwriter, studied a Certificate III in Business and learned more about the music industry as part of her traineeship. She now works for the country’s major music body, APRA AMCOS.

“Music has always been my passion, I live and breathe it, so to be working amongst people who share the same love for music is a dream come true,” Miller said, according to a press release. She added that a great thing about being involved in a traineeship is having the opportunity to further one’s self with a qualification. This, she said, increases the chances of working full-time.

Impi Tarjavaara from Canberra believes the traineeship is a chance for young people to forge a career. For Tarjavaara, ArtsReady works as a bridge as it helps those who have little experience cross over to arts and creative sector.

ArtsReady offers a combination of school-based and full-time traineeships. It has already delivered 310 traineeships.

The funding comes amid Australia’s issues regarding youth unemployment. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, youth unemployment is currently at 13.27 percent and underemployment sits at 18 percent, the highest level in 40 years. The figure is worse in the regions where youth unemployment reaches as high as 41.1 percent in “Queensland-Outback.”

Jan Owen, foundation of Young Australians chief executive, said younger Aussies have found themselves swimming in HECS debt, The Courier Mail reports. Older Australians, on the other hand, have benefited from low house prices and government policies like free university education.

Furthermore, young people will see the cost of their degree hike to 7.5 percent as part of the new Federal Budget measures. They must pay it back sooner, with payments scheduled to start once they get a salary of more than $42,000.

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