Youth Conversations Research Report

Young people living across the six local government areas of Victoria’s Great South Coast region have voiced their thoughts and expectations about their communities, education, training, and future employment through the Youth Conversations initiative. The findings of this report highlight what young people have said about being connected to their communities, their experiences of staying at school, aspirations for education and training pathways leading to future work, and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nine key recommendations arising from this report address opportunities to act on young people’s voices to strengthen the foundations of what connects them to their communities and significantly improve the need for more equitable participation in education and training pathways leading to their aspirations for future employment.

It is timely to be listening very closely to what our young people are saying, particularly in the context of COVID- 19’s continuing impact on our communities, and new opportunities arising from state and federal government initiatives seeking to strengthen schooling completion and address current and future skill shortages and gaps in industries and communities recovering from the pandemic. Most importantly, it is essential to be advocating for a bold, place-based approach that takes seriously the need for young people to be deeply involved and invested in future actions and initiatives arising from the recommendations of this report. The foundations for a strong, youth facilitation approach have been well-established in the Youth Conversations initiative and provide a solid base to inform future youth engagement strategy across the Great South Coast region.