YOUTH unemployment is rampant with Tamworth in the top five worst regions in the state.
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Almost 14 per cent of young people in the region are without jobs, ABS data shows, and Tamworth Business Chamber president Jye Seboer said it's time the government stepped up.
"Incentives for employers has to be the number one starting point," Mr Segboer said.
"When you have drought or downturn in business we have to get the government to address that, it's what we pay our taxes for.
"Small to medium businesses are the backbone of employment, if the government doesn't step up are they really representing the people and youth of our region?"
At least 90 per cent of unemployed youth in Tamworth that access Joblink Plus have no drivers' licence, without reliable transport its virtually impossible to find a job.
There needs to be more community and public transport, Joblink Plus youth program manager Amanda Hazell said.
"And something that addresses the difficulty in getting 120 hours of driving experience if there are no licensed drivers in your family," she said.
"More than 80 per cent of the jobs available say it's an essential criteria."
With 120 hours of experience needed to gain a provisional licence, it can be difficult to find people with the time to teach or the money to pay for lessons.
Youth unemployment has stayed at levels seen in the early 2000s despite 28 years of economic growth, Smashing the Avocado Debate, a report released Monday by anti-poverty group The Brotherhood revealed.
The evidence disproves stereotypes about young people The Brotherhood executive director Conny Lenneberg said.
“We know from our research and the experience of our services that many young people are doing it tough,” she said.
“Yet young people are too often depicted in simplistic terms of consumers of overpriced smashed-avocado toast with a fascination for selfies, and that’s plain wrong.”
To exacerbate the issue the number vocational job opportunities offered to young people has dropped with federal funds promised for apprenticeships and training by 2021 cut by $200 million in 2018.
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Employers need to be better informed about incentives to take on young workers Mr Segboer said.
"We know we have an ageing population and workforce," he said.
"Employers need to put on younger people so they stay in the region and benefit the economy.
"We don't want a leakage of talented youth going to other centres or the city to seek work."
The drought could be a contributing factor, while youth unemployment rates have dropped in the last five years they are still well above the state average.
The recent bid for a university campus in Tamworth would see courses in agriculture, nursing, education, law and business offered.
It would go some way in helping upskill young people and prepare them for white-collar jobs in the region Mr Segboer said.
"We want people to go on to further education because they have more chance of good long-term employment," he said.
"A university presence in the region encourages that and embodies everything we should do to get people further educated and in good paying positions."
The youth unemployment rate is just more than 10 per cent in New South Wales, ABS data shows.