Tim Corney

Australian Blue-Collar Men’s Health and Well-Being Contextual Issues for Workplace Health Promotion Interventions

In Australia, blue-collar workers are predominantly male and form a unique and large (approximately 30%) subset of the Australian workforce. They exhibit particular health-related issues and, in comparison to other groups, often a lack of health promoting behavior. This article briefly discusses the Australian context and some of the key health issues blue-collar men face, in particular as it relates to construction workers. It reviews the impact of gender and socioeconomic factors in designing workplace health promotion interventions. This article considers practice strategies for health promoters in a specific workplace setting: it looks at meta-factors and industry-based contextual factors, including barriers to implementation and participation, while addressing common misconceptions about Australian blue-collar workers.

Harmful Drinking and Experiences of Alcohol-Related Violence in Australian Male Construction Industry Apprentices

This study sought to understand the prevalence of harmful alcohol use in a sample of Australian male construction industry apprentices and also examine alcohol-related violence. Although previous Australian research indicated that 45% of construction industry apprentices had Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores indicative of harmful drinking, the current study identified that 66% of construction industry apprentices were drinking at harmful levels. It also identified positive correlations between harmful drinking behavior and alcohol-related violence (and precursors of violence such as verbal abuse). The article notes the role of masculine identity in alcohol consumption, particularly as it relates to the male-dominated construction industry. The article concludes by making recommendations for implementation of preventative education campaigns in apprentices’ workplaces (or in training colleges), as it provides opportune settings to focus on high-risk groups, which are otherwise often difficult to access.

Values versus Competencies: Implications for the Future of Professional Youth Work Education

The research presented in this paper is a study of the values underpinning the curriculum and teaching of current Australian degree‐level youth work courses, The paper looks at the implications that values raise for the introduction of competency‐based training in the youth and community services sector. The paper raises some of the potential risks for the status of youth work as a profession. The research investigates values in professional youth work education by using a qualitative, interpretative framework of inquiry and using a strategy of purposeful case study sampling and literature review. The data collection involved four case studies focusing on degree level youth work courses in four universities in three states of Australia. To facilitate the triangulation of data, a number of sources were used: students, lecturers, curriculum designers, curriculum documents and sector literature.

Socio‐emotional support of apprentices during the school‐to‐work transition

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to locate the role of social and emotional support during the school‐to‐work transitions of apprentices, within the Australian vocational education and training context.Design/methodology/approach – The research reported here is based on an independent evaluation of an apprentice suicide prevention and support program. This program has been implemented in rural and regional Australia, and findings highlight the programs retention of key messages in the long‐term (i.e. 6 months to 2 years post‐completion). The work is based on both quantitative questionnaires from 119 apprentices as well as 18 face‐to‐face interviews.Findings – The research showed that apprentices’ resilience to face school‐to‐work transitional challenges can be enhanced by increasing knowledge of suicide risk factors and sources of social and emotional support had increased. Findings indicate that a number of apprentices had made significant changes in their lives as a result of participating in the prog...