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Despite the involvement of many government agencies, a large number of interventions and extensive research literature, there is no widely agreed understanding of why New Zealand youth are experiencing poor outcomes and no agreed strategy for improvement. The New Zealand Institute investigation aimed to identify powerful interventions that can ensure the socialisation process works more effectively to reduce youth issues, rather than improve remediation efforts. This report proposes that accelerated roll-out of e-learning to low decile schools and improving the school-to-work transition will materially reduce youth unemployment and resulting social issues.

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As part of the Australian Government’s contribution to the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions, existing youth, career and transitions programs were consolidated into two new programs from 1 January 2010: School Business Community Partnership Brokers and Youth Connections. Youth Connections provides a safety net for young people who have disconnected or are at risk of disconnecting from education, and offers flexible case managed support and services that recognises the role that family and community play in a young person’s wellbeing and development. These guidelines relate specifically to the Youth Connections program. They set out the requirements for the provision of services by organisations contracted as Youth Connections providers.

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Part time work (defined by the [Australian Bureau of Statistics] ABS as involving employment of less than 35 hours per week) is now a key feature of employment in Australia having grown significantly over the past two decades so that Australia has a higher proportion of part time workers than most other OECD countries. Depending on how it is managed, part time work can be a valuable work-life-balance tool for employees while being valuable to employers in terms of productivity. When part time employment brings benefits for both parties it is considered to be ‘quality part time work’. The ‘Quality part-time work’ project was initiated by the SafeWork SA WorkLife Balance Strategy in response to the important role that part time work plays in South Australia and to focus attention on the dimensions and importance of quality part time work in the context of work-life balance objectives. This discussion paper is part of that project, and draws together information from work-related research and from key data sets (such as the ABS) in order to isolate the factors that determine quality part time work.

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Post-secondary education - university, college, or apprenticeship training - has become the essential path to reasonably stable and satisfying employment for most Canadians. It follows, therefore, that the question of who gets into a post-secondary program, and who graduates, is now a critical issue not only for the individuals directly concerned and their families, but also for public policy and for the general Canadian public, more broadly. This is the issue that has come to be defined as access to post-secondary education, or simply accessibility. There is an obligation to acknowledge the importance of who has this access, partly as a matter of fairness and equity, and also as a matter of importance for public policy because a highly educated population contributes directly to Canada's collective social and economic well-being.

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Hope is an important motivational psychological resource for performance in various domains such as academics, the workplace, and athletics. This study examined the role of hope and mental health for competency development over 24 months within vocational education and training. A structural equation model based on longitudinal data suggested that vocational competency at the end of training was related to levels of hope three months earlier, even after controlling for vocational competency 24 months earlier. Mid training vocational competency was only marginally related to subsequent levels of hope nine months later. Though hypothesized cross-lagged effects between hope and mental health were not found, the constructs nevertheless related synchronously. Higher vocational competency related positively to mental health nine months later. This study thus suggests that promoting hope at the workplace will not just strengthen psychological resources, but also positively impact the development of vocational competencies.

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A nutrition-rich diet could assist apprentices to maintain a healthy body and mind. The nature of most construction industry apprenticeship is such that they require concentration and moderate to high levels of physical activity, and, consequentially, apprentices need a diet that can support these required high-energy demands. Anecdotally, apprentices display a range of dietary practices, which appear to be moderated by their taste preferences, nutritional beliefs and knowledge, environment (e.g. availability of food, healthful dietary messages) and degree of prescription to traditional masculine stereotypes. The determinants of healthy eating, the effects of nutrition on mental health, gender differences in nutrition, and workplace programs are discussed in this literature review. Although no studies that specifically focused on apprentices' diets were identified, the literature makes inferences from related age groups and work environments. Due to this paucity of research, some researchers have specifically called for more focused nutrition interventions with young men (Walsh and Nelson 2010).

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As part of the Australian Government's contribution to the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions, existing youth, career and transitions programs were consolidated into two new programs from 1 January 2010: School Business Community Partnership Brokers and Youth Connections. Youth Connections provides a safety net for young people who have disconnected or are at risk of disconnecting from education, and offers flexible case managed support and services that recognises the role that family and community play in a young person's wellbeing and development. The purpose of the outcomes framework and evaluation strategy is to define the Australian Government's objectives of the Youth Connections program and how those objectives contribute to the goals set by the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions.

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Education is both a measure of wellbeing and a determinant of many of the other important aspects. Those with higher levels of education tend to have better health, higher incomes and stronger social relationships. However, many people obtain intrinsic value from studying and learning. While formal studies at school, university or other tertiary institutions is an important aspect of education, opportunities for informal learning can also have a positive impact on subjective and objective measures of wellbeing. Recognising the dual role of education, this lecture is separated into two parts - the economic and social benefits (or returns) to education for the Indigenous population, and the determinants of education participation. A particular focus of this lecture will be on the development of skills and learning across the Indigenous lifecourse.

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This compendium contains the results of the initial and follow-up leaver destination, school meal surveys and post review (previously post appeal) attainment information.

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Young adults are at the highest risk for alcohol-related harm, so what do they know about responsible drinking practices? This study compared the knowledge of two groups of Australian young adults: apprentices and university students. The findings revealed that both groups have relatively low levels of knowledge regarding responsible drinking practices in three areas: the identification of standard drinks, the minimum number of standard drinks required to reach the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) drinking limit, and actions effective in lowering BAC. The results revealed that these groups of young people need increased alcohol awareness, particularly in relation to responsible drinking practices.

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