There's a growing recognition that as the downturn unfolds one group most vulnerable to its impact are young Australians.
That's because in times of economic gloom it's those parts of the labour market casual, part-time and lower skilled jobs, the type of work young people rely on that are the first to go.
Cast your mind back to the previous recession when youth unemployment headed towards 30 per cent.
That entrenched joblessness took more than a decade to address and in parts of the country is still too high.
Our leaders know that if we don't act now the downturn will produce similarly horrific results.
But being aware and making sure we have the policies in place to deal with the problem are separate things.
So what needs to be done?
First and foremost Australia needs a National Agenda for Young People an overarching policy framework to integrate Australia's efforts for its young citizens across different levels of government and portfolios.
We're facing a national emergency. Let's nationally coordinate our efforts and have all our policies for young people pulling in the same direction.
Without it various well-intentioned initiatives from local, state and federal governments will fall victim to gaps, duplication, poor targeting and end up short of what we need.
Any framework must include a focus on young people most vulnerable to the downturn those currently not engaged in education, employment or training or whose connection is hanging by a thread.
That translates to around 300,000 15-24 year old Australians with another 50,000 expected by next July.
We can reach these young people by focusing our efforts on disadvantaged areas already known to have high youth unemployment.
Larger not-for-profit organisations are well placed to work as facilitators in these communities working with smaller grassroots organisations, employers, local governments and schools to develop collaborative plans to keep young people in education, training or identify job opportunities.
This is how we'll come up with innovative responses to what are often highly localised challenges based on regional industries and employment patterns not in Canberra.
Any national youth agenda should work at pooling the various government funds that exist across departments aimed at boosting youth employment and allow local organisations the opportunity to apply for the money to run their initiatives.
We need to get away from highly prescriptive and bureaucratic approaches that fixate about how an employment program is delivered and instead support and measure the success of local initiatives based on their outcomes.
The Government has already hinted at something similar with its $200 million Get Communities Working package but we need something that has a youth focus.
Next we need to keep young people in touch with education.
As the downturn bites more young people will be under pressure to complete Year 12 including many who struggle with traditional schooling.
We need to start building education around their needs rather than fitting them into the system.
Let's start by considering what motivates these young people to learn and tailoring education to match their goals and aspirations.
That includes preparing individualised curricula and learning plans, providing intensive support, and the opportunity for alternative educational pathways through 12 years of schooling.
The South Australian Government has taken a strong lead in this area through its Flexible Learning Options initiative that provides education opportunities for young people who have dropped out of school or are at risk of doing so.
The initiative funds programs that provide accredited schooling in a youth-friendly environment outside the traditional classroom.
Students also receive specialised support with other issues that might be present in their lives, such as mental illness or family conflict.
Parents and families are involved via a range of activities that boost self-esteem, confidence and connectedness.
Flexible Learning Options is a model deserving of rapid national expansion to help kids stay in education.
Finally, we should consider building a national mentoring strategy into our youth agenda.
There are literally thousands of different mentoring programs operating around Australia some worthwhile, others not.
But we have good evidence about what works and how mentoring can play an important role in promoting the wellbeing of young people - particularly those struggling to make a successful transition to employment, education or training.
It's a sobering fact that youth unemployment has jumped from 17.0 per cent to 23.9 per cent in just two months. Over 71,000 young people are now looking for full-time work 22,000 more than in December.
If youth unemployment is the canary in the coal mine then the downturn is looking awfully grim.
The next meeting of state and federal leaders at the Council of Australian Governments later this month is the perfect opportunity to register a shared commitment between the different levels of government to developing a national approach to these issues.
Without enhancing our efforts we will find ourselves at the completion of the downturn with a large pool of untrained and unemployed young people with insufficient education to contribute fully to Australian society.
A lost generation.
Toby Hall is chief executive of Mission Australia and a member of Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Community Response Taskforce an advisory group set up to advise the Government on how to help disadvantaged Australians through the downturn.
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