Study and work: the results are in
Steps are needed to help students suffering adolescent overload.
With more than 260,000 Australian secondary school students working part-time jobs to help pay for mobile phones, cars and their teenage lifestyle, a bipartisan parliamentary report wants more done to help students find a better balance between their study and work.
The House of Representatives Education Committee has called for funding for further research on how the growing numbers of student workers are coping with the competing demands of school, sport and active social lives and what impact these jobs are having on academic performance.
In its report on combining school and work, called Adolescent overload?, the committee has made 13 recommendations including development of a national generic skills passport for students to document their job skills. The committee also has proposed a code of practice for employers and supervisors to outline their responsibilities in assisting students document their skills.
The federal government should research how many secondary students are studying part-time and what the successes and limitations are of attending secondary school part-time, the committee said. In consultation with state and territory governments, the federal government should also establish a national definition of what constitutes part-time secondary school study and part-time work for statistical purposes.
To help protect students in the workplace, the committee has urged the establishment of a national employer of choice for youth program to recognise model employers. It has also called for the proposed national toolkit for young workers to be distributed to all secondary schools and for the proposed National Commissioner for Children and Young People to be progressed as a priority.
Committee chair Sharon Bird (Member for Cunningham, NSW) said the inquiry found that for some students achieving the right balance between school work and their job can be “highly problematic”. The committee had conducted a national survey through schools and also online, that attracted responses from 2,765 students. Of those respondents, 1,722 were engaged in some form of work outside of school with 44 per cent working between six and 12 hours a week. Another 30 per cent worked between one and six hours a week.
“There are considerable positive benefits for students who combine school and work,” Ms Bird said. “Those who find the right balance are not only rewarded with a range of social and economic benefits, but their chances of a successful transition into further education, training or work are significantly enhanced.”
Ms Bird warned the nature of part-time work for students had changed significantly in recent years and some of these workers were also vulnerable to being exploited.
“The extended trading hours in the retail sector and late night trading in the fast-food industry which prevail today have contributed to students working longer hours and later hours than ever before,” she said.
“Student workers can be susceptible to exploitative working conditions because their part-time jobs are often their first experience of the workforce and they lack awareness about their rights and obligations, including pay and conditions. The vulnerability of students in the workplace highlights the need for adequate protections and shared community responsibility by parents, employers and schools to ensure they are protected against working excessively long, and often very late or early hours.”
Links
Web: www.aph.gov.au/edt
Email: edt.reps@aph.gov.au
Phone: (02) 6277 4573
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