Some young people face challenges that can make it harder for them to finish secondary school and successfully move on to further education, training or employment. These challenges can limit a young person’s participation in education, training or employment, or can throw them completely off track and keep them from achieving their potential.

Youth Pathways helps young people who want to complete year 12 (or its equivalent), but who face multiple challenges or barriers to their progress.

Things that get in the way of a young person’s transition through and beyond school are often beyond their control, and can be complex. Some examples are:

• educational factors such as poor literacy or numeracy, poor academic performance, discouragement with school, bullying or alienation
• personal factors such as medical conditions, disabilities, substance abuse, low self-esteem, depression, poor social skills, poor discipline, or such a deep-seated inability to conform to acceptable community standards that the person cannot effectively participate in education, training or employment
• social, cultural and community issues such as homelessness, family violence, a history of criminal behaviour or institutionalisation (for example, time spent in foster homes or correctional or other juvenile facilities), carer responsibilities or significant financial barriers.

Some young people face one or more of these issues and can still successfully move through school and beyond using their school’s counselling, and career development and support services.

However, a significant number of young people in Australian schools are disengaging, or at risk of disengaging, because they face all sorts of obstacles and are not getting the support they need. Youth Pathways aims to get more young people back into education—and help them stay there—by providing the necessary support.