CHAPTER 4: CHANGES IN SOCIETY AFFECTING EDUCATION
4.5 CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY .1 Employment
Substantial changes have occurred in Australia's economy over the past decade or more as the relative significance of primary and manufacturing industries gives way to an increasing emphasis upon service and information industries. Given our relatively small population and the inherent limits on domestic growth, these changes have made necessary major structural reforms to improve Australia's competitive performance in world markets.
Unemployment reached its highest levels since the Great Depression during the 1970s and 1980s. Initially the result of many factors including the increased participation of women in the workforce and the decline of manufacturing industries which had hitherto benefited from structural protection policies, the unemployment profile has changed in recent years to reflect a growing emphasis on more skilled jobs.
Unemployment has become concentrated in specific sectors of society, the unskilled (especially youth and women), those not born in Australia, those who live outside capital cities, and Aboriginal Australians.
Although employment has declined steadily in the manufacturing sector over the years, that sector remains a large employer, albeit of a more skilled, leaner workforce. Current emphases in this sector recognise the value of the development of overseas markets for Australian manufactured products and the potential of such markets to reduce Australia's burgeoning balance of payments problems.
Concurrent with this high level of unemployment is the increase
in
female participation in the workforce.The service sector, which is responsible for the majority of employment growth in Australia, has played a particularly significant role in increasing opportunities for female employment.
Current indicators show, however, that growth in this sector is tending to plateau.
There are clear indications that unemployment will particularly affect those with few or no educational qualifications such as early šchool leavers and socially disadvantaged groups, particularly minority and migrant groups.
Table 4.4 shows the youth unemployment rates in some leading industrial countries. It can be seen that youth unemployment rates began to increase in the mid 1970s in all of these countries with the exception of Japan where the increase began in the 1980s.
Table 4.4:
Youth Unemployment Rates for Selected OECD Countries 1973 - 1986 (a)
Country Year
1973 1976 1977 1980 1983 1986
Australia (b) 3.3 9.8 12.2 12.2 17.9 14.5
Canada 9.6 12.7 14.4 13.2 19.9 15.2
Italy 12.6 14.5 23.9 25.2 30.5 34.5
Japan 2.3 3.1 3.5 3.4 4.5 5.2
United Kingdom (c) 3.2 11.8 13.5 15.1 23.3 20.7
United States 9.9 14.0 13.0 13.3 16.4 12.7
(a) The term "youth" generally refers to the 15 - 24 age group, but in Italy it refers to the 14 - 24 age group and in the UK and USA the 16 - 24 age group. In Canada and Australia the armed forces are excluded from the youth labour force.
(b) Data refer to August of each year.
(c) Data refer to July of each year.
Source: OECD Economic Outlook. No. 42. Dec. 1987, Table 18 p 33.
The OECD study, New Policies for the Young (1985), found that by the beginning of the 1980s, in some OECD member countries, even less disadvantaged groups, and especially females, with education credentials and technical skills were beginning to fmd it increasingly difficult to obtain jobs.
More specific reasons for the growth in youth unemployment since the mid 1970s are:
• the decline in areas which have traditionally employed unskilled young people, that is, in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail industries;
• in Australia, the reduced rate of growth
in
the Public Service sector accompanied by a decline in recruitment;• the elimination of discriminatory employment provisions from the mid 1960s which was followed by a significant increase in the recruitment of adult females;
• within the Public Service sector the removal of upper age limits and some educational barriers for base level entry positions created competition from well qualified adults.(4)
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that although unemployment has declined slightly since 1988
in
Australia and the number of employed persons increased by 2.1 per cent between February 1988 and 1989, young people are still over-represented in the jobless figures."' In addition, while the overall unemployment rate in March 1989 was 6.7 per cent, the quarterly survey of unemployment benefit recipients by the Department of Social Security showed that 37 per cent of those receiving unemployment benefits were under 25 years of age (6) The ABS study of the labour force in February 1989 showed that NSW had similar unemployment rates, the lowest recorded since 1982, but unacceptably high youth unemployment rates still prevailed. Although teenage unemployment had decreased from 20.7 per cent in February 1988 to 16.6 per cent in February 1989, it still remains a cause for concern.')4.5.2 Vocational Opportunities
Recent growth in the service sectors of the Australian economy includes the tourist industry, computers and information, communications, recreation, and social and education services.
There is continuing demand for trained workers in these sectors. If Australia follows world trends, mounting pressure will be put on education systems to prepare students for a workplace where minimum requirements will be a certificate signifying successful completion of high school studies .0) In Australia, high levels of youth unemployment have precipitated
a
situation whereby employers, faced with a choice of employing early school leavers or older
and better qualified school leavers, are choosing the latter. In the United States, the demand for high levels of skills in the workforce is increasing and employers are complaining that they are unable to find staff with adequate literacy and interpersonal, analytical and specific job skills.c9
Yet the OECD review of Australia's youth policies conducted in 1985 found the education and training arrangements in Australia to be premised on the labour force needs of an industrial economy, that is, of the need for a minority of professionals and skilled trade workers and a majority of unskilled and semi-skilled workers and some who learn skills on-the-job. This premise was criticised as obsolete in what was becoming a post-industrial economy where high technology and the service sector were increasingly important. It was argued that a much greater proportion of young Australians would have to complete the full secondary school course and receive a broad general education as a foundation on which to build the occupational skills necessary to operate in a labour market in a state of f1ux.(10 j Others argue that while the service sector is of growing importance as an employer, Australia is not becoming a "post industrial" society. In fact it is postulated that we need to develop a more sophisticated "industrial society" if we are to overcome our trading difficulties in the longer term. In either case our society has become increasingly more complex and higher levels of education are needed to meet employment requirements. Up to the 1970s, completion of six years of high school for an unskilled worker was widely thought to be unnecessary. Yet there is now an emerging requirement for the majority of all new employees to have completed six years of secondary education and, in many cases, some form of post- secondary studies.
It has recently been argued that the problems of disadvantaged youth and minority groups are easier to resolve when the education system prepares them with the basic skills — reading, writing, mathematics and the ability to think critically. Enhancing the quality of schools is regarded as an essential step in achieving this .('» Many submissionś to the Committee urged a greater emphasis on vocational preparation and a bias towards scientific and technical subject areas. Representative business bodies continue to support the concept of education for "whole of life'', albeit on the basis that worthwhile employment represents a significant component in ensuring a more fulfilling life.
In some countries the business community is working with schools to reduce the youth unemployment rates. For example, in the United States and the United Kingdom attempts to revitalise education have included partnerships between schools and business, job guarantees in return for completion of high school courses and high attendance rates, and remedial courses using the latest technology. The Committee notes that a number of initiatives are under way in NSW. Further examples from the United States which might be appropriate to NSW are:
• the introduction of keyboarding skills and computer literacy programs in primary schools;
• further career opportunity courses for Years 9 and 10 students;
• generic pre-vocational courses in senior secondary years, for example in electronics.<1i)
There is compelling data to support the view that the new growth areas of the economy will be heavily dependent on education and training, on a well-educated community which values specialist skills and on workers willing to be learners throughout their working lives.
Indeed, the future will see a rapid growth in current trends towards the restructuring of industrial awards which involves widespread skills retraining with consequential improved wage levels. This requires substantial investment in personnel skills-training by employers.
Schools can play a role in relieving youth unemployment and in making Australia more
economically viable by increasing the general educational level of the community. Approaches suggested include:
• placing more emphasis on science and technology in the curriculum and making these subjects more acceptable through emphasis on their practical application;
• placing more emphasis on the provision of core studies, on the mastery of the basic skills and on remedial teaching;
• emphasising the acquisition of practical and vocationally useful skills;
• emphasising the process of "learning" in a way that students are more likely to view learning as a dynamic process, thus enhancing confidence and an attitude to lifelong learning;
• promoting the development of students' self-esteem, self confidence and interpersonal skills;
• encouraging students who potentially have a "high risk" of being unemployed to stay on at school;
further encouraging girls to take "non traditional subjects" to broaden their career options;
• increasing opportunities for closer links between school and TAFE, and TAFE and business;
• increasing career education opportunities;
• promoting greater co-operation between schools and the business community;
• encouraging students to acquire general abilities, interests and attitudes which will enable them to make active contributions at work;
• exposing students to specific future-oriented skills such as keyboard skills and computer programming;
• broadening learning options to meet individual student needs such as self-paced learning, hands-on experience, discussions, practical studies and audio-visual learning aids such as films and video; .03)
It is also necessary that teachers should be more adequately equipped, through retraining, to focus on the development of characteristics which better prepare young people for the wider environment, including the work environment, which they experience upon leaving school.
4.5.3
The Committee's ApproachThe Committee stresses that future job opportunities for all Australians and the financial resources to fund educational needs will depend upon this country's ability to encompass a major restructuring of the economy to make it internationally competitive. That restructuring will require increased productivity both collectively and individually. It will certainly demand greater and more,flехiЫe skills, positive attitudes and teamwork.
By contrast with many overseas competitors, Australia has huge natural resources in land, climate, foodstuffs, fibres, minerals and electric energy capacity. Nonetheless, improved competitiveness by the Australian economy will require a range of major changes. The particular changes relevant to education include: improved educational achievement especially in terms of literacy, numeracy and technological skills both at basic and higher order levels, specific vocational skills, and changes in the values and attitudes of our society with respect to the world of work. Raised educational achievement levels and increased qualifications without accompanying attitudinal changes to work and management, enterprise and responsibility will be unlikely to create major improvements in economic productivity.
With respect to educational achievements there is a world-wide trend to increased education for all, with one specific target being greater retention in the senior secondary level. There is general recognition, too, that the rapidity of technological progress will force many people to change jobs a number of times and will compel further education. This would argue against too narrowly specialised secondary education and require a greater emphasis on continuing education across the full life span.
With respect to changing values and attitudes to work and to productivity there needs to be within each classroom and school an atmosphere where effort is encouraged and conscientious work is directly rewarded. Similar changes outside the classroom among adults and adolescent peer groups will also be needed. Governments, in their social and fiscal programs, will need to address this question of values and attitudes by rewarding a ort and providing incentives for greater effort.
The Committee concludes in favour of high quality general education, based on the achievement of high standards of literacy and numeracy and good communication and social skills within a school social context where effort and persistence are rewarded. It emphasises that such an approach will equip the student both for vocation and the whole of life. The Cоmmittее also concludes that in the senior years of high school students should be provided with opportunities to begin some specialisation of study relating to future career prospects along with general academic development. The specialised study will include courses with a vocational orientation as well as traditional academic studies.
In the post compulsory years of secondary education the objective of high quality education should assume a wider perspective and allow for students to develop their individual interests.