Charity and Media Company Join Forces to Tackle Negative Stereotypes

As part of a commitment to create “smart connections for their communities,” media company Adshel has teamed up with a national welfare group to tackle negative stereotypes of youth unemployment.

The Job Hunter Not Dole Bludger campaign is a joint initiative with Brotherhood of St Laurence which aims to challenge the myth that young unemployed people are “job snobs” or not motivated to work.

The outdoor advertising campaign, which features images of young people seeking work, will be posted on bus shelters across Melbourne and Canberra throughout May and June.

In addition to providing support pro-bono to rollout the campaign, Adshel are implementing a new work experience program which will provide opportunities for six participants to join the Adshel Melbourne operations team.

Adshel people and performance director Franck Appleby said Adshel was happy to make a positive contribution to the local community.

“At Adshel we are committed to our purpose of ‘creating the smartest connections for our communities’ and we’re thrilled to work in collaboration with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, to be able to support disadvantaged young adults in Victoria and provide them with work experience opportunities that will hopefully have a positive impact on their lives,” Appleby said.

Brotherhood head Tony Nicholson said it was time to stand up for young job seekers who are often stereotyped in public discussion.

“Let’s not replay the same old inaccurate story – that Australia’s young unemployed people are lazy and don’t want to work,” Nicholson said.

Ashley, 19, who features in the campaign said “every teenager wants to work.”

“I don’t think I’ve talked to a single one that just wants to sit at home and sit on the dole,” he said.

Latest figures show the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24 is at 13.1 per cent for March, equalling 271,600 youth.

Nicholson said today’s youth were facing unprecedented challenges to entering the workforce and there should be no question as to a young person’s drive and motivation to find work.

“Being young and hunting for work in Australia has significantly changed from when this generation’s parents and grandparents were young,” Nicholson said.

“Employers demand more skills and experience from all of us. And the entry‐level jobs that used to exist for school leavers – from the mailroom, to the factory, to the farm – are disappearing in our globalised economy. We need to concentrate efforts as a community in creating opportunity for young people and building up their capacity for work.”

Nicholson said work experience was vital to helping young people into employment.

”We know as a welfare agency that work experience is vital to help young people into employment. The exposure and opportunities being offered by Adshel in their business will be invaluable to young unemployed participants,” he said.