5 years ago
YOUTH PATH PROGRAM EXPOSED AS A FAILURE
BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
More evidence has exposed the Morrison Government’s Youth Jobs PaTH program as exploitative and inefficient.
Senate Estimates has revealed that a business has no obligation to detail the length of the internship and are paid regardless of the length of time an intern is engaged.
A business could host an internship for five days only and still be paid $1000 of taxpayers’ money. This is despite the minimum four week internship requirement and reasonable prospect of employment post internship.
SENATOR PRATT: Organisations that host an intern are paid $1000. Is the organisation required to report on how this money is spent? Does the host have to pay back that money if the intern doesn’t get to 4 weeks?
DEPARTMENT: Senator, the $1000 per host business is paid in recognition of set up, supervision and other costs associated with an internship. The host business does not need to indicate specifically however what amounts of that are spent on which components…
SENATOR PRATT: is there a refund to the government if an intern doesn’t last four weeks?
DEPARTMENT: No Senator there isn’t, part of the purpose of an internship is to give a young person a go… We do not recoup the $1000 if the intern does not last four weeks.
SENATOR PRATT: Can an employer have an intern for a day and get paid $1000?
DEPARTMENT: Senator I’ll need to check this but my understanding is it’s based on five days, as a minimum.
It is clear for the Liberals’ signature PaTH internship program is failing. It is replete with rorts and rip offs, including the displacement of existing jobs and has failed in its first two years of operation.
There have been 114 complaints made by participants of the program since commencement of the program.
Senate Estimates has also revealed the dismal employment rate post internship for the five most frequent business users of the program.
For top 5 business users of the program, the employment rate post complete internship is 53.8 per cent. This is significantly below average rates of employment for businesses that host 1-5 interns (66.3 per cent), 6-10 interns (68.7 per cent) and more than 10 interns (60.8 per cent).
At a time when youth unemployment is more than double the national unemployment average, it is unacceptable that Morrison Government simply has a failed program and no stragey to address the issue.
The failed PaTH program is not making a dent in addressing the persistently high youth unemployment rate.
Despite mounting evidence of the failure of the program, Minister Cash continues with her best attempts to pretend the program is not exploitative and inept.
Senate Estimates has revealed that a business has no obligation to detail the length of the internship and are paid regardless of the length of time an intern is engaged.
A business could host an internship for five days only and still be paid $1000 of taxpayers’ money. This is despite the minimum four week internship requirement and reasonable prospect of employment post internship.
SENATOR PRATT: Organisations that host an intern are paid $1000. Is the organisation required to report on how this money is spent? Does the host have to pay back that money if the intern doesn’t get to 4 weeks?
DEPARTMENT: Senator, the $1000 per host business is paid in recognition of set up, supervision and other costs associated with an internship. The host business does not need to indicate specifically however what amounts of that are spent on which components…
SENATOR PRATT: is there a refund to the government if an intern doesn’t last four weeks?
DEPARTMENT: No Senator there isn’t, part of the purpose of an internship is to give a young person a go… We do not recoup the $1000 if the intern does not last four weeks.
SENATOR PRATT: Can an employer have an intern for a day and get paid $1000?
DEPARTMENT: Senator I’ll need to check this but my understanding is it’s based on five days, as a minimum.
It is clear for the Liberals’ signature PaTH internship program is failing. It is replete with rorts and rip offs, including the displacement of existing jobs and has failed in its first two years of operation.
There have been 114 complaints made by participants of the program since commencement of the program.
Senate Estimates has also revealed the dismal employment rate post internship for the five most frequent business users of the program.
For top 5 business users of the program, the employment rate post complete internship is 53.8 per cent. This is significantly below average rates of employment for businesses that host 1-5 interns (66.3 per cent), 6-10 interns (68.7 per cent) and more than 10 interns (60.8 per cent).
At a time when youth unemployment is more than double the national unemployment average, it is unacceptable that Morrison Government simply has a failed program and no stragey to address the issue.
The failed PaTH program is not making a dent in addressing the persistently high youth unemployment rate.
Despite mounting evidence of the failure of the program, Minister Cash continues with her best attempts to pretend the program is not exploitative and inept.