Experiences of unemployment and formal and informal employment brokers among emerging/young adults : a socio-ecological perspective

Abstract

This study explores the experiences and constructions of both youths and employment brokers regarding youth unemployment. Unemployed youths are defined as young people aged 17-25 looking for work. The methodology comprised qualitative methods (semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis). A total of 17 youths and 14 organisational brokers were interviewed. The results were analysed through the lens of Bronfenbrenner's (2007) socio-ecological model, which accounts for how influences on health can occur at different levels of the social environment, and which conceptualises health and wellbeing as existing within multiple nested ecosystems. A thematic analysis of youths' accounts of unemployment and employment describes a number of themes at several levels of the model. The themes identified include the impact of unemployment on mental health, the development of vocational identity, positive and negative experiences in the family setting, the impact of the educational setting and its influence on the transition to employment, negative experiences with employers, and housing and transport barriers. These accounts are compared with brokers accounts of youth unemployment and their response to the young people. The key themes in brokers' accounts highlight the importance of mental wellbeing and vocational awareness, responses to youths who had dropped out of school, the impact of intergenerational unemployment and housing barriers, the attitudes of employers toward unemployed youths, and cultural awareness in brokerage. The findings illustrate that the main areas of convergence in the youths' and brokers' accounts were on the issues of housing, employer experiences and importance of support during the school years immediately prior to entering the workforce. The results support previous findings on the mental health impacts of unemployment and highlight the role of identity and youth transition processes, the role of social support among unemployed youths in wellbeing, and identify the unique role of flexible learning options for the support of unemployed youths. They also highlight the role of transport and housing within the context of the participants, located in Western Sydney, chosen specifically for its larger geographical area and its higher rates of unemployment compared to the rest of Sydney. The research extends these approaches by illustrating how they apply to the issue of employment, within the structural influences of the employment service provider system in Australia and appropriately in the specific social and cultural context of Western Sydney.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English