On 17th October, Youth Ambassadors from Youth Employment UK and Youth Futures Foundation took part in a focus group discussion with the DfE and DWP to talk about how their mental health has influenced their access to education, training and employment.
This year’s Youth Voice Census highlighted anxiety and mental health challenges as two key barriers young people thought they would have in finding a job, and with many young people in education noting mental health disrupting their learning over the past 12 months, we know this is an important issue to address.
Here are some key insight and experiences our young people shared.
On accessing education
- “The school environment affected my mental health as I could not fit the ‘mould’. This really impacted my self-esteem and confidence, and there was a lack of support in school. School can feel very “one size fits all” and as I didn’t fit with that, I disengaged and began to skip school, my behaviour changed. I was told I was ‘beyond help’ once I approached teachers.”
- “I have autism and used to have meltdowns before school, and I think schools should be more understanding of these needs, as they are a struggle. Some teachers would understand, but not all, that you need time to recover from a meltdown. School should be a place where they support you and help you cope.”
- “I’m in Y13, I went to a state school for secondary school. Help was very little, however schools have like 32 kids per lesson. Teachers were overcrowded with people asking for help. I had to be very independent, I can’t really blame them. I am in sixth form in a private school now, it is a lot better. We’re encouraged to engage more, ask questions, and there is better 121 support. Making such big decisions at this age puts a lot of pressure on you and your mental health. On my mental health side I had nobody to talk to other than friends. You do not get enough support in state schools, but there is too much pressure in private schools.”
- “There were situations when my disability held me back and I was not given the chance of being understood for how much I was trying within my education.”
- “There is a lot of pressure on students. Transitioning to a new school or picking your options – we’re not equipped with the knowledge or skills to make these decisions. My struggle was moving on and knowing what to do next. I moved to a technical school, and although the transition was hard, my experience was completely different. It was supportive, showed me pathways, and encouraged me to do what I wanted to do and told me I could do it.”
- “Some of my friends who are NEET do not see the value of going back into education or training. When you are struggling with MH, there should be support for returning to education.”
On accessing employment
- “Being told that I couldn’t achieve what I wanted put barriers in my confidence to apply for an apprenticeship. Being shut down from doing what I wanted to do stopped me from what I wanted to do and made me question if that was what I wanted to do. Work experience helped build my confidence massively and demonstrated that construction IS what I wanted to do.”
- “I have found there is not enough support for people with a disability to stay in and get work. This made my mental health bad. More job sites for disability confident jobs, more employers who advertise that they will support people with a disability. Help from the JobCentre+ than isn’t just CV work and random courses.”
- “Having work experience opportunities is so important. I organised my own work experience in cyber security rather than school, and I still work in that sector today. It built my confidence so much. For someone who has never been in employment it can be really nerve racking approaching an employer, so education establishments supporting how to approach this will really help young people with their confidence.”
- “I always desired to help other people, growing up I didn’t think I would be successful with my disability. Why was I not successful in my application? Because of my disability or because of the skills necessary for the job? I wanted to open up my own business due to geographical issues and being told that you have to go to London if you want to be a good lawyer. Being from a poverty background it can be very frustrating; I don’t want to climb the ladder doing something that I don’t love doing. I’m not going to let this hold me back, I am going to fight and do something and will not allow the circumstances to stop me. I will see how capable I am of fighting as an individual. I saw that I was limiting myself because of the circumstances and I had a mental switch to fight for what I want, which is to go into education and start my own business – to express my potential.”
Reflection
A common theme throughout the session was the importance of tailored support. Young people really benefit from support that is suited to their needs and their experience, and highlighted that this would have really helped them in school or when looking for work. Young people also talked about the importance of work experience, not just to find out what it is like in the world of work, but in building their confidence. Incorporating opportunities for work experience into the curriculum is a fantastic way for schools and colleges to build young people’s confidence and self belief, which we know can have a real impact on their self esteem and mental health.
