Gen-Y slack and spoilt, says boss

Sharlene Lee with new employee Jessica Ritchie. Pic: Lee Griffith

Sharlene Lee blames the State's high youth unemployment rate on Gen Y's lax attitude to work.

Ms Lee, the owner of Circles of Subiaco, said she got only four calls after advertising for a junior with no experience for a hairdressing apprenticeship at the upmarket salon.

She said the poor response and the efforts of most of those called in for a one-day trial last week summed up Gen-Y workers.

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The first applicant went to lunch and did not return and the next did not turn up.

The third applicant grabbed her handbag two hours after arriving, walked out without a word and was never heard from again.

Ms Lee blames parents for spoiling Gen-Y, claiming the young workers did not appear willing to commit to a four-year apprenticeship because they "want everything yesterday".

"These kids have never even heard of the term lay-by," she said.

"They don't know what it is to work towards something. They just put everything on their parents' credit cards."

Fourth applicant Jessica Ritchie said she used to have a lax work ethic.

The Tuart Hill girl said she was happily unemployed for months after leaving school after Year 10 while her parents supported her financially.

"I know some girls who are much younger than me, who say they don't need to work," she said.

"They'd rather walk around a shopping centre all day and do nothing."

Ms Ritchie said she eventually "woke up", decided to get a job and make something of her life.

But she found it hard finding work during the global financial crisis.

She developed a passion for hairdressing and is determined to follow in the footsteps of her mother and a cousin.