Youth need to do hard yards

IT’S a tough world and those wanting to enter the workforce have to start somewhere, usually at the bottom. A job is a privilege not a right. For many it’s apprenticeships or traineeships in trade roles such as in carpentry, plumbing and electrical.

The wages are low, the work is hard and it seems like a slog.

Those who stick it out will be rewarded. It can lead to supervisory and management roles. Some start their own businesses. However, many youngsters today have it too easy and that often is the fault of their parents.

They get driven to school. They don’t have to walk or ride there.

They are given the latest electronic devices, particularly smart phones.

They don’t have to do chores around the home, simple things like doing the dishes, taking out the rubbish or mowing the lawns.

Many of our youth are pampered and have it too easy.

So it’s no surprise that data collated by training organisation Skill 360 Australia reveals that low wages, commuting time and parental expectation are among the reasons for the Far North’s alarmingly high apprentice drop-out rate.

About half of the apprentices never complete their training and nearly a third drop out in the first year.

Many look for higher paying jobs, which are great in the short term.

Others just don’t like what they’re doing or have been forced into it by parents because that’s what dad did.

Others find it too physically demanding. They would rather lie on the couch and play with their phone.

It’s time to harden up Z generation.

Get stuck in, do the hard yards and the rewards will come. Nick Dalton Deputy editor