Labor has promised to save a learning and employment network which is trying to fix youth unemployment in Wyndham and Hobsons Bay, if it wins November’s state election.
Federal funding to the state’s 31 Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLEN) was cut in this year’s budget, leaving them unable to operate after December 31.
WynBay LLEN had its budget slashed by $2.3 million. The group helps about 16,000 young people in Wyndham and Hobsons Bay access learning and employment programs such as the Australian apprenticeships access program and the Alternative Pathways program, which provides alternative education services to young people.
Youth unemployment in the western suburbs has risen to 13 per cent, while youth workers in Wyndham believe as many as 25 per cent of people under 25 in the area do not have jobs.
Network executive director Dallian D’Cruz said one in five young people in the region left school early, with Wyndham and Hobsons Bay schools reporting that up to 17 per cent of their students were at risk of leaving education.
Labor has promised to provide the 31 LLENs with a total of $32 million if it wins in November. WynBay LLEN chairman Barry Harvey welcomed the promise but also urged the state government to commit to plugging the funding gap.
“We have a crisis in youth unemployment in Victoria; a crisis made worse by the recent commonwealth budget cuts to programs like the LLEN, which work for the betterment of our young people,” he said.
“The LLENs are a neutral, non-partisan body. We do not take political sides.
“We are unashamedly on the side of our youth as their advocate and voice.
“We are calling on the Victorian government to come out and match this commitment.”
Altona MP Jill Hennessy said the WynBay LLEN was helping make a difference in the community.
“With youth unemployment at record highs, young people deserve a real chance,” she said.
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan said Labor would reinstate the funding because the group had been instrumental in building partnerships between employers and education providers in Hobsons Bay and Wyndham.
“Education pathways need to be built and nurtured, so it’s vital that organisations such as the WynBay learning network are supported by governments,” he said.
