What’s the point in making young people work-ready if there are no jobs?
Prepping young people for work is no good unless the government lowers the cost of employment to create more jobs, writes Helen Dickinson.
Helen Dickinson argues that preparing young people for work is pointless without addressing the growing costs and regulations that make entry-level jobs harder to create. Using a metaphor of a bus filled with 16-24 year-olds, she illustrates that 23 get jobs after the stop at school and university, while 12 go to work after the stop in the business district, leaving five young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
These NEET individuals represent nearly 1 million young people who cost the economy £125 billion annually and face a cycle of unemployment and lack of skills development. The Alan Milburn report, expected soon, should focus on stimulating job creation to break this cycle. Milburn will urge the government to boost work incentives, such as part-time roles or balancing in-work and out-of-work support.
However, the report must also address the rising employment costs, particularly for retail, which lost over 120,000 roles in the past three years. Retailers are attempting to help with the Opening Shift initiative, but the success of this depends on the government lowering employment costs and creating new jobs. Without these actions, the government's efforts will not be enough to address the moral and economic imperative of getting young people moving from unemployment or on the bus.
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
