On top of the devastating cuts to TAFE, the state and federal governments have walked away from their commitments to the Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) that exist across the state.

LLENs are amazing facilities that provide links between young people and their potential employers. including those currently engaged in schooling and those who have dropped out of schooling and are facing unemployment.

The unemployment rate in the western suburbs for young people aged 15 to 19 is 38.4 per cent, as compared to the rate in greater Victoria, which is 7.2 per cent. The difference is stark.

I urge the government to secure the future of LLENs and take up the fight for jobs and youth in the outer west.

Sign the petition to keep funding for LLENS in our schools here.