Why We Must Invest in our Young People to Improve their Employability Skills

It’s every business owner’s desire to find that right young person, with talent, to join their business. But my question is, who is teaching them the basic skills, so they have this talent, the way you were taught – the street-smart ways of doing business? 

We must teach our young people why a business needs to be profitable, the expectations of an employee in today’s current job market and what a business must do to survive. These are the lessons they will not learn from a mobile app. We must teach them the importance of communication and how their contribution will make a big difference to any company.

I don’t believe our young people get enough education or the opportunity to learn the street-smart ways of doing business before they enter the workforce. It is our responsibility as the ‘Business Owner’ to provide work experience, an internship, showcase our business, and/or give up some time to help these people and the non-for-profit organisations, secondary schools and universities who are trying to up-skill them.

We need to explain, showcase and educate our young people of our community the way it works in our workforce. How do we open their eyes to make them more aware of why businesses and organisations need their help to be more successful?

Australia has many young people who are either early school leavers or university graduates. Either way they still need our help. Brimbank has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the state. A Brotherhood of St Lawrence report released in 2016 showed most areas of Brimbank have a youth jobless rate of about 17 per cent.* I believe it is our corporate and social responsibility as business owners to help them in order to improve their prospects, making a positive social impact and supporting our local community. I believe it’s our responsibility as business owners to be the street-smart educator.

Our young people in our community need to hear it from you, to get a better understanding and experience of working in a business or organisation. Who knows, this may be a good recruitment strategy for you!

Keyba Careers has recently launched a new initiative to assist our young job seekers by empowering them to be job ready. The program will develop their skills and educate them on what they must do to contribute to the bottom line of a company, and why potential employers are looking for that young person who has the right talent and attitude. They will learn why businesses need people within their organisation who understand the meaning of customer service and team work.