Business
Youth unemployment and what it means for business
29th November 2011
Apprenticeship news, with Natalie Austin of WBTC
Last month a raft of depressing statistics demonstrated that youth unemployment (16-24 year olds) nears one million. Some of these young people do not receive benefits and are referred to as NEET, meaning Not in Employment, Education or Training.Either way, whether unemployed or NEET, a vast swath of the younger generation are currently economically inactive and this presents a present and future problem for business.
Present issues
As unemployment rises among young people we see a shrinking of the constituency that traditionally spends most of its disposable income. Unemployment among young people really does mean less spending in shops, bars, restaurants, mobile phone stores etc.
Future issues
Before 2008 employers in West Berkshire were finding it difficult to recruit skilled staff. With this current generation of NEETs we’re creating a ‘bathtub’ decline in skills and experience that will haunt us when the recovery finally kicks in.
“The effects of long-term unemployment are often depressingly long lasting. The TUC's own research has shown that those who were out of work for more than a year during the 1980s were more likely to struggle during the current economic crisis and overall tended to earn less than those who got through the decade economically unscathed.” The Independent, October 2011.
Each young person who is NEET is less likely to be equipped to fill future jobs when they are created. Consequently local employers will compete for a smaller pool of talent and be forced to offer higher remuneration to people from further and further afield. In short, the longer this structural unemployment lasts the harder the consequences will be for all of us.
Breaking the cycle
For employers there are flexible options to help generate work for young people
1. Apprenticeship Training Agencies – the equivalent of temporary Apprenticeships
2. Work experience placements through Foundation Learning
3. Apprentice wages from £95 per week
If you would like advice and guidance then please do not hesitate to contact me on (01635) 35975 or Natalie@wbtc-uk.com
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