Mental ill health is the number one health issue facing young people worldwide. Young people who experience mental illness are approximately three times more likely to suffer disruption to their education and work life than their peers. Yet they still share the same aspirations as their peers and consistently rate gaining employment as one of highest recovery goals when commencing an episode of care for their mental illness.

To address this, HMSTrust recently approved a Lead grant of $586,221 to Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, to undertake a research project to develop and test a web-based employment support package for young people experiencing barriers to obtaining and remaining in work due to mental ill-health. Once tested and refined, the Youth Online Training and Employment System (#yotes) will have the capacity to help several thousand young Victorians.

Dr Magenta Simmons, Youth Partnerships in Research Coordinator, and Gina Chinnery, National Vocational Services Manager, will lead the project with colleagues A/Professor Mario Alvarez (Head, E-Health), Professor Eóin Killackey (Head, Functional Recovery), and Professor John Gleeson from the Australian Catholic University.