Criminology Research Council grant ; (4/85)
Although some analyses yield conflicting results, the broad statistical picture of advanced industrial countries from the 1960s to the 1980s shows the relative decline of young people's standing in the labour market and the growth of youth unemployment have led youth on the margins of society into a growing incidence of anti-social and criminal behaviour.
Evaluations conducted in North America and Western Europe indicate that training and work experience programs aimed at redressing the labour market position of unemployed vouth and juvenile offenders can make significant reductions in the criminal behaviour recorded among program participants.
In Australia, a range of government funded programs conducted by community organisations have addressed themselves to these issues in the 1980s. The author made a series of visits in 1985 to these programs and had discussions with their officers and participants. He found the results of the local programs confirmed international experience. There were two models of successful programs in Australia:
- skills based programs conducted by experienced educators and combining basic and remedial education with training in specific skills and/or work experience
- personal development programs conducted by social workers and youth workers which combine efforts to develop individual confidence and group rapport with remedial education and vocational training.
These community-based models are most effective when regarded not as vocational training in themselves but as pre-training programs aimed ultimately at directing youth into the formal education system for skills and trade training to enhance their long-term employability.