The UK government is facing calls to intervene and encourage young people to find and keep jobs as youth unemployment rises.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has published a report noting that almost 948,000 16-24-year-olds are not in education, employment, and training (NEET), a significant increase over the 800,000 recorded in 2019.
This growth has been driven largely by young people who are not working and are not seeking any work.
Of those who are now working, 38% are unemployed and seeking work, while 63% are economically inactive. That means they are out of work and not seeking a new job.
The TUC lays this burden at the feet of the previous Conservative government, arguing that young people have been severely impacted by austerity policies and the disruption to life and work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This combination of factors has left us at crisis point with young people facing an uncertain future,” the report says.
“With long-term unemployment and worklessness leading to lasting labour market scars and negative health outcomes, urgent action is needed to repair the damage done and ensure that young people have access to high-quality, well-paid work and opportunities for training, progression and development.”
Job guarantees and apprenticeships
Among the TUC’s recommendations to improve young peoples’ participation in the workforce are the introduction of a national jobs guarantee scheme and the provision of apprenticeship opportunities.
A jobs guarantee scheme would provide six months of employment paid at the national minimum wage, with placements allocated regionally based on need. Priority for these placements would be given to young people aged 18-24 who have been out of work for more than six months or those at risk of becoming economically inactive in the long term.
The TUC said that introducing this scheme would benefit the government’s revenue, generating £2,810 for every £1,000 spent on the programme. It recommends that the government provides a minimum of 100,000 guaranteed placements over a two-year period.
Another possible route for helping young Brits to find work is through apprenticeship schemes, with the TUC said could help to provide good-quality jobs to young people for life.
It recommends that where the government funds infrastructure projects, those projects should be required to deliver apprenticeships ringfenced for young people.
The government should also invest more and ensure fair pay for those involved in teaching the skills required in the industrial sector to ensure that high-quality apprenticeships are provided, it said.
The TUC pointed to the Future Jobs Fund launched by the 2009 Labour government as a successful example of a funded jobs programme that addressed the rising unemployment caused by the global economic crisis.
It also referred to the EU Youth Guarantee scheme, which ensured that those younger than 25 received a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, or an apprenticeship after leaving work or formal education.
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