28/03/2025
Last night I was lucky enough to attend BBC One's Question Time at the Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford, Kent, presented by the excellent Fiona Bruce. Topics covered included children's mental health support (huge waiting lists & a postcode lottery when it comes to services), the Lower Thames Crossing & the astronomical amount spent on this project before a single hole has been dug (£1.2billion for anyone interested 😲), who should be plugging the deficit, benefit claimants or billionaires? & how should we respond to Trumps tariffs? A very interesting evening of debate, even if some joker decided to plant a device which kept on going off throughout the recording, halting filming in its tracks whilst they tried to find where the (rather rude) noise was coming from!!
I was hoping my question relating to youth unemployment would have been picked but alas it wasn't, so I'm asking here instead. Facebook community; What are we doing to support young people into work?
Having spent most of my early adult career in recruitment, I can say hand on heart there’s always been a missing stepping stone for school leavers looking to get into the world of work. Every entry level job wanted at least 6 months work experience & unless you were lucky & had a parent/guardian that guided & encouraged you through the process, young people were left to fend for themselves. Interviewing potential candidates for an Apprentice Cabinet Maker role in recent weeks I really don't feel much has changed. The sheer number of candidates that had drawn a blank at securing a job in the field in which they'd studied shows we need to be doing more to get these young people job ready. When asked whether their school or college had been able to offer any support, candidates really weren't able to offer up much of anything.
Now, I'm not silly, I know there's 2 sides to every story & I'm sure some colleges/schools are doing great work in getting students job ready but the overall picture is pretty grim; 1 in 8 young people are currently claiming job seekers allowance & the unemployment rate for young people aged 16 to 24 was at 14.5% for Nov 24 to Jan 25 (figures from the Office of National Statistics), it's clear we absolutely need to be doing more. As far as the construction sector goes I'm encouraged to see the government have announced they are going to be spending an additional £100 million to support 35,000 construction-focused skills bootcamp places & a further £40 million for up to 10,000 additional places on new construction Foundation Apprenticeships, but with NI hikes & pressures mounting in an unpredictable global market where does that leave hiring?
Is it time to redefine what education looks like towards school leaver age & give young people more vocational training to get them job ready - CV writing masterclasses, dummy interview practice & educational facilities building relationships with local employers are just some of the areas I feel could do with investment. If you’re doing something as part of a local initiative or have seen where people are getting it right I’d love to hear from you - please comment below.
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