Lessons From My First Focus Group Project

"It really doesn't matter how well you are capable of doing a job if you can't convince the employer to hire you in the first place." These words were spoken by my (Sue's) 18-year-old niece, Rosie. Along with three of her friends, we were chatting over lunch at a local McDonald's about the difficulties and frustration facing school graduates who simply want to get a job rather than go on to further study at a university or technical college. I work as a policy officer for the nongovernment school sector in Queensland, Australia, and the discussion I was having with my niece and her friends was one I had heard many times in recent months. The high school curriculum in Australia now provides significant job-specific preparation for students who do not wish, for whatever reason, to go on to further study. The curriculum, for example, allows students in their final two years of schooling to gain foundation certificates from local technical colleges in a range of trade areas such as hospitality, tourism, hairdressing, and office administration. Nevertheless, statistics reveal that more than two-thirds of young Australians seeking to enter the workforce straight from school still do not have permanent employment six months later, irrespective of how well they did at school or what job-specific knowledge and skills they possess. "Someone should do something about it," Rosie mumbled through a mouthful of Big Mac. "Exactly," I thought, "and that someone should be me."