We all celebrated a little with the news that the economy was showing signs of recovery; an upturn would begin to see a positive impact on youth unemployment. Then into our inbox came a shocking reminder as to why we are campaigning!
The future is still a worrying landscape for young people and not just those immediately leaving or who have left education but 14 year olds are at risk too. 14 year olds who will make their GCSE choices this year will have to be very wise. They will need to be well informed and tooled for the world of work, because the funding that is supporting our 16-24 year olds today will not last. According to the Impetus Report: Making NEETS History in 2014
The emotional and mental effect of a slight term of unemployed has a life time effect on a young person’s well-being in addition financial income. It can create a lifetime shortfall on earning potential. And has a long term impact on resources and the economy:
- A young person who experiences a period NEET will, on average, lose up to £50,000 in earnings over their working life
- If we do not prevent the 120,000 of today’s 13-year-olds who are at risk of becoming NEET from doing so, they collectively stand to lose £6.4 billion
- The lost taxes, additional public service costs and associated impacts such as youth crime
- and poor health will cost Britain in excess of £77 billion a year
The Impetus report goes on to deliver a series of recommendations for structural change based on its research and analysis. These recommendations include calling on government to;
- Create a Secretary of State for school-to-work transitions
- Pay the Pupil Premium by results, not all upfront
- Charge Ofsted with inspecting schools’ efforts to improve school-to-work transitions and use of data
Many organisations and think tanks have spent much time on this issue and on developing policy ask of government, we support this important task. Youth unemployment is a systemic problem and only with serious and measured intervention will we see real change.
As the dedicated campaigning and membership organisation for youth employment we will be involved in many reports this year as we make 2014 the year for a #YouthFriendlyUK
