4 October 2006
The reality TV series Jamie's Kitchen can tell us much about young workers, how to train them, and the risks, tensions and dilemmas that accompany a young person's transition into the brave new world of work, a Monash University study has found.
The findings are outlined in a forthcoming paper 'Don't be a smart arse': Young Workers, Individualisation, and an Ethic of Enterprise in Jamie's Kitchen' to be presented in December at the annual conference of The Australian Sociology Association, and in a book Working in Jamie's Kitchen, to be published in 2007. The authors are Dr Peter Kelly head of Monash University's Department of Behavioural Studies and Dr Lyn Harrison from the Faculty of Education at Deakin University.
The paper and book analyse the 2002 UK series of Jamie's Kitchen where high profile celebrity chef Jamie Oliver sets out to transform a group of unemployed young Londoners into the enterprising, ideal worker of 21st century flexible capitalism. A new series -- Jamie's Kitchen: Australia -- is currently airing on Network Ten.
Dr Kelly contends that over the past 30 years, globalisation -- characterised by increased competition, rapid technological change and economic uncertainty - has profoundly changed the world of work and the way employers, trade unions and governments think about labour markets and workers.
"'Flexibility', 'casualisation', 'up-skilling', 'multi-skilling', and 'life-long learning' are the new realities and buzzwords in the global labour markets of the 21st century," Dr Kelly said.
"The youth labour market is characterised by higher levels of job mobility, higher unemployment rates than older workers, lower average incomes and a different occupational profile to the rest of the working population. Many 'youth' jobs are in the hospitality and services industries that are characterised by precarious forms of employment. Casualisation, individual contracts, and a lack of union representation often mean young workers have limited resources to draw on to negotiate their position in these new work workplaces.
"Jamie's Kitchen shows some of the benefits for young people who are successful in terms of the training Jamie Oliver and the Fifteen Foundation provide. But the series also highlights some of the costs to young people as they are made to conform to the demands of contemporary workplaces."
Dr Kelly said the ongoing work of the Fifteen Foundation as a social enterprise involved in training marginalised young people should be applauded.
"Jamie's Kitchen however, also highlights the fact that young people's transition into paid work is uncertain and risky in ways that make the life-course more unpredictable for many young people. As a chef/trainer said in the first series of Jamie's Kitchen, it pays not to be a 'smart arse' in these circumstances."
For further information contact Dr Peter Kelly on +61 3 9903 1237, or Karen Stichtenoth, Media Communications, on +61 3 9905 1253.
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