The Wellspring

Australian youth training and employment NGO Dusseldorp Skills Forum have released a report about the attitudes and experiences of young Australians. Fearless & Flexible: Views of Gen Y is based on discussions with 63 young Australians (aged 15 – 24) in eight groups, across cities and towns in four states.

The report paints a picture of young Australians as largely conservative and disengaged. As researchers Saulwick and Muller put it:

Big-picture issues that affect employment, specifically globalisation, are not on their radar … Perhaps liberated by a broad disinterest in these matters and emboldened by having never known anything other than sustained economic growth, they hold few fears for the future.

They display a pragmatism born out of prosperity; little awareness of issues outside their immediate orbit; an acceptance of the status quo. Their values are conventional and their ambitions modest. For many of these young people their dreams-come-true are about family, home, and the car.

They see a multicultural Australia in which the key is for immigrants to fit in and conform to our ways. They’ve grown up in prosperous times and don’t fear an economic downturn if for no other reason than it is beyond their ken.

What a depressing picture! This certainly isn’t my experience – perhaps, more than anything, this report underscores the difficulties associated with generalising about entire generations (especially based on a mere eight discussions).

For more information, and to download the report and associated materials, see http://www.dsf.org.au/fearless.html.