Yesterday I attended the launch of Centrepoint’s research on youth unemployment – Unlocking Potential: Tackling youth unemployment among disadvantaged young people.
It was good to be a part of the launch and the debate. As pointed out by Centrepoint youth unemployment is still an issue in the UK. Despite the reduction of young people claiming job seekers there are still nearly 1 million young people not in full-time education, employment or training and 125,000 young people who have been unemployment for a year or more.
Young people who experience homelessness and other disadvantages have even more challenges when trying to enter the world of work. Some young people do not have GCSE’s, may have care responsibilities, come from families who are benefit dependent and are homeless. As the research points out these young people need more intervention and greater support than most. But these young people do want to progress and do want to ultimately find good employment and training opportunities for themselves.
The apprenticeship and traineeship model can really support these young people, especially where the employer is able to recognise the challenges and provide additional help. As part of the report Centrepoint made a number of recommendations including:
- Extend careers guidance in schools
- Introduce compulsory work experience
- Incentivize all employers to provide apprenticeships for disadvantaged young people aged 16-24
- Allocate a portion of the apprenticeship levy to support disadvantaged young people
- Finance for traineeships
- Include early assessment of a claimants circumstances under the Youth Obligation and match claimants to employment and training opportunities that match their aspirations
- Allow an extension of the 6 month period under the Youth Obligation if vulnerable young people are not yet ready for work
- Ensure that the benefits system does not impact families so that young people are put off from apprenticeships
You can find a link to the research here.
