I was changing trains at Glenfield recently and saw two young blokes drinking 500ml cans of energy drink. They had just finished work for the day and were close to completing their TAFE qualification in sheet metal fabrication. They were "sheeties" they told me proudly, holding up their welding masks. 

I love chatting to young men this age. A bit dopey, and funny, still trying to fit into fully formed skins. I have heard that on average, men use around a quarter of the words that women do. These two young men were certainly laconic; gently ribbing each other as we waited for our trains. 

As young men they have a lot ahead of them; many unconscious biases are slanted their way. The bigger bloke purely on his height is more likely to end up in a management position. They will get paid more on average than women in a similar role. We are also going through an unprecedented infrastructure spend by government that will certainly keep them employed. 

Likewise it’s this generation who has some of the biggest incidence of mental health problems. Three quarters of all suicides are by men, 95 percent of all workplace deaths are of men, and statistically they die younger than the women around them and make up three quarters of all homicides. They also make up around 93 percent of all prison populations. 

Things are changing for men in our culture though; I was watching a TV singing show "The Voice" recently and was deeply moved at the diversity of ways of being a man that were normalized. Not celebrated. I wonder what the greatest challenges will be for these two builders of the future over the next decade as they mature into good, generous and loving men? Challenges in themselves and from the culture we live in? What can they avoid and embrace? 

As my train came in I nodded to the guys and mentally wished them well on their journey home and into the future. We live in interesting times.