With 18% of the Australian youth labour force underemployed the employment outlook for many young Australians is profoundly different than it was for past generations. – SMH, March 2017
With youth underemployment rates the highest they’ve been in 40 years it’s more important now than ever to embrace and explore the benefits that young people bring to business. Here are 5 key benefits gained from youth employment.
1. New energy and perspective
Young employees can bring fresh perspective and a different way of thinking to your business. Most young workers are eager to learn, build their experience and apply their skills in the workforce. This enthusiasm is great for team building, productivity and workplace moral. Younger employees will also give you an advantage if you want to target the millennial market as they understand how to reach and communicate with their peers.
2. Workforce development
Young people are used to learning. If they have just come out of school or tertiary education they will still retain a mindset that will help them absorb training more readily. As they don’t have a huge amount of previous experience young people are essentially a ‘blank slate.’ This affords their employer an opportunity to develop a workforce of young people specifically trained to meet their organisation’s needs.
3. Affordability
More often than not, wages for a young employee are less expensive than those for an older more experienced worker. There are also options for formal trainee and apprenticeships which can be of great benefit to both employers and young people.
4. Tech advancement & early adoption
Millennials have grown up around technology. Their natural affinity for tech and their ability to apply and understand different technologies quickly sets them apart from other generations in the workforce. Hiring young people has a positive and important impact in driving business forward in the adoption and use of new software and technology. – DJ Paoni, SAP Manager
5. Adaptability & agility
When unexpected circumstances arise, younger people are better equipped to respond to sudden change. – Science Daily, 2011. This can be of great benefit in the shifting landscape of the modern-day workplaces where process, technology and priorities are constantly changing. With economic, social and political boundaries in a state of flux, adaptability gives young people an advantage in a work environment that is more agile, changeable and fast paced than ever before.
