Our role in NEET prevention

As 2012 draws to a close many of us will start to reflect on the successes and good feeling generated by the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We will start to think about the coming year with a renewed sense of optimism and even make resolutions, that we may or may not struggle to keep and which we anticipate will make a difference to how 2013 unfolds.

 

This year has seen the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) stay resolutely above the one million mark.  Through our work with charities focused on helping young people reach their full potential PEF is resolved to make a difference.  So often young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds are unable to access the opportunities which could help ensure positive pathways into employment, we are determined to ensure that they do.  However the responsibility lies not only with organisations like PEF.  Each of us can play our part to ensure the NEET figures don’t continue to rise in 2013.

 

According to the European Foundation for Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in their report launched in November 2012 which looks at the NEETS population across the EU; the UK has the second highest number of NEET’s in Europe.  Clearly there is more we can learn from our European neighbours, such as Youth Guarantee Initiatives, Second Chance Schools, and Employer incentives; all of which are having a positive impact on the numbers of NEET young people in other member states.  Perhaps the suggestion by Vince Cable that all 18 year olds would be encouraged and supported to ‘learn or earn’ i.e. study or work, as they do in Australia, rather than join the increasing numbers of young people who are unemployed is one way forward, but it is clear we all have a responsibility to tackle this issue, it’s bigger than a single organisation or government can fix and too important to ignore.

 

Each of us can make a difference to the positive transitions into employment that young people need to make if they are to be successful in their adult life and for many this is about having the right opportunities. As 2012 draws to a close, let’s all consider what we can to do to enable young people to have and make the most of these opportunities.   Could you contact your local school and offer to speak to students about your work or business, invite a group of students to visit your work place or maybe even provide a work experience opportunity for one or two young people?  Do you know a young person who is interested in a particular career?  Can you help connect them to people working in that industry?

 

Let 2013 be the year that all of us resolve to play our part and make a difference to the lives of young people in our communities.

 

Carol Jackson

Portfolio Manager, Private Equity Foundation

Mind the gap – the scandal of school-to-work transition

Youth unemployment is at record levels and the truth is that this is not purely a result of the recession or austerity measures; in fact, youth unemployment has been rising since the early 2000s.  If we are to stop this trend and fix the deeper structural issues surrounding youth unemployment we need to focus our attention on another scandal in our communities: the large number of young people who are failing to make a successful transition from school into the world of work. Many young people are being let down. They are leaving school without the skills or experience employers are looking for and ultimately, this is fuelling an even greater youth unemployment crisis.

Through our programme called ThinkForward, which places super coaches in schools who work with young people most at risk of not making a successful transition into work, we have learnt that there is no single answer or easy fix. But there are some simple things which can be done to help young people navigate their way from education into the labour market.

1. Start young – from the age of 14 years when young people are making GCSE decisions they need information about the types of jobs in their local area and guidance on the skills, experience and qualifications required for entry into these jobs. They also need space to discuss their future career goals and aspirations with teachers, mentors and professionals who will inspire them to succeed.

2. Contact with employers – research by the Education and Employers task force found that young people who recalled ‘four or more employer contacts’ were five times less likely to be NEET. The tragedy is that only 7% of those questioned recalled four such activities taking place. Surely, those of us who who work in  schools, voluntary organisations and the business community could together provide opportunities for young people to have meaningful experiences of work. As we have found through ThinkForward, this can include activities as simple as visiting a workplace or having a local business leader speak at a school to more involved activities such as having a dedicated mentor or completing a work experience placement.

3. Responsibility for post-sixteen destinations – the pressures schools face to achieve GCSE results coupled with recent changes to the provision of careers education and guidance mean there is little room in the curriculum for ’employability skills’. Yet if young people don’t learn these skills during their time at school, how can we expect them to be work ready when they leave? Businesses and charities must play their part and schools also must ensure they are giving young people the very best chance of future success once they walk through the school gates for the final time.

4. Extra support for the most vulnerable – our ThinkForward super coaches support young people most at risk of making a successful transition, from the age of fourteen through to nineteen. We believe this continuity of support helps young people not only get a job or college course but to stay with it.  There has been much criticism of employment programmes that last for three or six months with no ongoing support. For those furthest away from the labour market, having a named coach who will stick with them and help them navigate the complexities of their personal life and the world of work can make the difference between a young person making a successful transition from school into work or getting stuck in a gap unemployment with significantly reduced prospects.

Rhian Johns is the Policy and Communications Director at Private Equity Foundation and will be speaking at The Work Foundation and Private Equity Foundation’s next fringe event at the Labour Party Conference.

Give the next generation a chance: it might be easier than you think

Young people are either unable or taking longer to secure a first foot on the job ladder.  In England alone, around 450,000 NEETs have yet to make the move from learning into work, outside casual or holiday jobs.  There’s evidence that more employers expect applicants to be ‘job ready’ leading to a catch 22: no skills, no job; no job, no skills.

For the sake of all our futures, we need to close the growing gulf our young people face between leaving school and finding employment.  In the current economic climate that’s a big ask, but employers unable to offer young people jobs or apprenticeships can still have a role.

 

At a recent Work Foundation event, Dr Anthony Mann, Director of Policy and Research at the Education and Employers Taskforce, pointed to a relationship between the extent of employer engagement arranged during school years (14-19) and the successful labour market progression of young adults (19-24).  He found that each employer contact improved the odds of being non-NEET by 29 per cent.

 

The provision of work shadowing, mentoring, workplace visits or talks in schools all make a difference.

 

And, despite the current controversy, in interviews carried out as part of a recent Work Foundation report, one important area where long-term young unemployed people felt they had not received the support they needed was around access to opportunities like work experience.  It’s just got to be offered in the right way, not exploitative but opening up new networks and avenues which could lead to a job.

 

There’s plenty of scope. For example last year, research by Demos found that ‘shockingly’ there is currently little to no engagement from local employers or businesses in school ‘career fairs’.

 

We all remember the person who gave us our first break.  If you’re an employer, could you give a young person a helping hand – a connection to the world of work?  As one young person quoted by The Work Foundation said “I love working, I love being busy…If someone could just give me a chance.”

 

Shaks Ghosh, Chief Executive, Private Equity Foundation