Retailers to put young people on the right PaTH

3 JULY 2017: Another leading industry organisation has backed in the Liberal National Government’s Youth Jobs PaTH (Prepare-Trial-Hire) program with a commitment to deliver thousands of internships for young Australians. The Australian Retailers Association has confirmed it will partner with the Government and deliver up to 10,000 internships to young Australians looking to get into work through the Youth Jobs PaTH program.The Liberal National Government understands the best form of welfare is a job. The Youth Jobs PaTH is all about giving local young people the skills they need, giving them practical work experience and getting them a job. Since the Liberal National Government was elected in 2013, the economy has created more than 686,000 jobs. The Youth Jobs PaTH program is a central element of the Turnbull Government’s comprehensive plan to get more Australians into work.Australia’s retail is the single largest employer of young Australians and employs more than 1.2 million people overall. Today’s announcement will provide more opportunities for thousands of young Australians to learn new skills and showcase their talents in this industry.ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said retail was not just a place to start work but could deliver a career, with some of Australia’s most successful business people starting on the shop floor. Despite the program being in its infancy, the evidence to date demonstrates the Youth Jobs PaTH model is working — more than 4,800 people have commenced employability skills training courses and more than 6,200 young Australians have found work through the newly reformed youth wage subsidy.The elements of Youth Jobs PaTH are:Prepare — Employability Skills Training (EST) to help young people better understand what employers expect of them in the workplace and equip them with the skills, attitude and behaviours for them to be successful in a job.Trial — under the $250 million ‘Trial’ element, the Government is encouraging local businesses to take on a young person aged 17 to 24 in an internship for a period of up to 12 weeks.Hire — a Youth Bonus wage subsidy of up to $10,000 has been available since 1 January 2017 to help more businesses hire young people.Further information about Youth Jobs PaTH, including internships, is available at: jobactive.gov.au/path