With almost three quarters of a million youngsters about to pick up their GCSE results and the number of 16- to 24-year-olds classed as ‘Neets’ – or ‘not in education, employment or training’ –standing at 1.09million, with over 600 000 estimated as never having had a job; Nick Hurd, (pictured) Minister for Civil Society, Old Etonian and son of Douglas Hurd, Mrs Thatcher’s Foreign Secretary, claims young people lack ‘social skills and discipline’ and blames schools for not teaching employment skills
Yet research by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows less than a third (29%) of employers are taking on more people aged 16-24, despite the ‘upturn’ in the jobs market.
CIPD comment “Many 15-16 year olds and their parents will be nervously anticipating GCSE results, research has shown that many young people fear that they will struggle to find jobs and establish their future careers. Last week’s employment figures also highlighted that, while overall unemployment went down, youth unemployment is on the rise. There are some great examples of employers who are seeking to address this trend by implementing youth engagement strategies, creating apprenticeship opportunities or school leaver programmes. These organisations should be congratulated for their great work. However, there remains a significant proportion of employers who are not doing enough to engage with young people to help them to build the work skills they will need, and at the same time to build the future workforce their organisations need. Business has a key role to play in developing our young people in order to bridge employability gaps and skills mismatches. We cannot simply expect governments or education systems to churn out off-the-shelf employees”
Education, Economy and Society 