Today, ONS released their latest labour market data, highlighting the pressing need to tackle youth unemployment. The data shows those aged 18 to 24 are three times more likely to be unemployed than any other age group. Alarmingly they are also more than twice as likely to be economically inactive when compared to those aged 25-34 and 35-49.
We know there could be a number of reasons for this rising unemployment rate, for example:
- a lack of skills needed for work
- lack of appropriate qualifications
- gaps between education and employment
- employers perception of young people
- mental ill health.
In our 2023 Youth Voice Census, we heard just 4 in 10 young people felt confident they were prepared to start employment and similarly 4 in 10 think they understand the skills employers are looking for, a reduction in confidence of 12 ppts on last year’s scores. We also know from the 2023 Youth Voice Census that mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression were a key factor in holding young people back from employment.
Yesterday, the King gave his speech officially opening Parliament under the new Labour government. Taking into consideration the complex reasons contributing to youth unemployment, we are encouraged to see the Government’s plans introduce a range of Bills including:
- Raising educational standards and promoting children’s wellbeing. The children’s wellbeing bill will put children and their wellbeing at the centre of the education and children’s social care systems, and make changes so they are safe, healthy, happy and treated fairly.
- Creating a functioning skills system with Skills England. The body will bring together businesses, providers, unions, mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) and national government to ensure we have a highly trained workforce.
- Reforming the apprenticeship levy into a ‘Growth and Skills levy’ to provide employers more flexibility on how they spend the funding.
While not included in the speech, Labour had already committed to a Young Person’s Guarantee: a commitment that young people aged 18 to 21 would receive support to access a training or apprenticeship opportunity. This is something the Youth Employment Group has previously called for.
We have long called for a commitment to collaborative working from educators, employers, health professionals and policy makers. It is urgently required if we are to make steps forward in reversing the rising unemployment trend. The reasons outlined above show how complex and challenging tackling youth unemployment is. The Government’s commitment to bring together a range of services to support our young people is positive and encouraging. We look forward to working with the new Government, educators and employers as they navigate the new announcements being made.
