By Lottie Dexter 

By Lottie Dexter 

BRITAIN has reached a crossroads. In the midst of global transformation and economic meltdown, we must decide how to survive this brave new world. We have to make the call; are we in or are we out?

Alas, unlike the government I am not talking about the hotly-debated EU referendum. Instead, I want action on something much more pressing; youth unemployment. The latest statistics, which will be released this morning, will likely show that the number of jobless 16-24 year olds continues to hover around the 1m mark – as it has for nearly four years. Unemployment among young adults is twice the rate for the overall workforce.

These statistics speak for themselves. Young people are our most potent natural resource and having so many going to waste is toxic for Britain’s long-term economic prosperity, as well being a stranglehold on society. Youth unemployment harms wellbeing, breaks families and sinks communities. And that’s not to mention the cost to the Exchequer; David Miliband’s landmark report on youth unemployment estimated that it cost more last year than the entire further education budget.

This is a blight on our society that will ruin our chances in the global economy for years to come. A recent Million Jobs/YouGov survey found that just 4 per cent of people thought Britain would have more influence in world affairs in ten years’ time. Youth unemployment was ranked the third most important issue facing the country, while coincidentally Europe came in seventh. People recognise that fresh faces and not grey hairs will get us going, and our youth must be leading not lagging.

We cannot afford to have 1m young people missing out. These young adults are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and friends. It is for the people that sit behind the statistics that, at 23 years old, I started the Million Jobs Campaign. I have travelled the depth and breadth of Great Britain, meeting the under 25s who are struggling to get on. I have spoken to their youth workers and the businesses that cannot afford to give them a shot. I have seen the devastation unemployment is reeking on my peers, and the great potential going to waste. Million Jobs speaks up for the young jobless and puts pressure on politicians to help them. By 2015 we want all political parties shouting about their plans to combat youth unemployment. We want them to break with the failed solutions of the past and to take a radical new approach to cracking this.

Reforms to schools, training and welfare are a good place to start and would make not working not an option. An injection of enterprise into education would mean that pupils have the information, experience and the skills to get the jobs they want. Those at risk of falling out of the system altogether should be matched and mentored into employment – and their benefits rerouted accordingly.

These bold structural changes should be combined with a raft of pro-enterprise measures, such as slashing the rules and regulations governing work experience. Along with tax incentives and a more flexible employment environment, this should ensure that our young people are not priced out of the jobs market but can make their way in the world.

After all, this is not a new phenomenon: youth unemployment has been dogging us for years. In 1997, New Labour’s electoral victory was fuelled by the hopes of youth. Despite grand promises to “attack” youth unemployment, after 13 years in government the number of jobless young adults had rocketed by 40 per cent. Various schemes had failed, wage subsidies created artificial employment and – ultimately – Britain’s young people were hung out to dry.

Since 2010, the coalition government has made headway and embarked on some ambitious reforms. The redefinition of the welfare state and the introduction of a number of pro-business policies – such as reforms to employment tribunals, National Insurance breaks for nearly half a million small firms, and startup loans – are all reasons to be hopeful. Yet while this is all good progress, we must not be naïve. It is nowhere near enough. Solving the youth employment Rubik’s cube requires a master plan, and a hell of a lot more gumption.

This is the only way to beat down the long grass for 1m young adults. By ushering in a new era of employment policy, the government would make way for our bright young sparks and get Britain back on her feet.

Lottie Dexter is director of the Million Jobs Campaign. millionjobs.org.uk

Listen here

By Daniel Cooper

My name is Daniel Cooper. I hold a First Class degree from the University of Nottingham and recently completed an internship working in a Member of Parliament’s Westminster office.

I am also one of the 958,000 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training. In the government jargon I’m a ‘NEET’.

I’m desperate to work and I wanted to write about my experience of unemployment as it seems to be so far removed from the way that the media and politicians represent it. This week alone comedies such as ITV’s ‘The Job Lot’ have treated unemployment as a source of amusement, Channel 4’s ‘Skint’ portrayed benefit claimants as feckless “scroungers” and Boris Johnson used an interview to blame Britain’s “sloth” workers for our faltering economy.

After months and months of often unacknowledged applications I may not be in work but I’m no sloth. Like many graduates I’ve realised a degree means little in this economy and it is experience that counts. My problem is that I can’t get the job without experience but I need someone to give me a chance to gain that experience! I hoped that my internship would allow me to escape this catch-22 but it hasn’t. Unfortunately I’m not in a financial position to intern unpaid or take a post-graduate course to beef up my CV.

Although I am largely applying to more competitive industries nobody could accuse me of being a “job snob” but my degree is a hindrance when going for basic roles that I could have got as at 16 or 18 year old school leaver. Employers are rightly concerned that I see the job as a recession stop-gap and leave when a better opportunity arose – making the First that I worked so hard for redundant.

And we are not just competing against graduates from this year but previous years too. Older workers are taking a significant pay cut just to keep hold of their job. I now realise that with scores of applicants fighting over one job there is little incentive for employers to provide any work-place training. Instead I need to be “work-ready” from day one to stand any chance of employment.

I signed-on to Job Seeker’s Allowance in the hope it might help me find work but this only served as a gateway to the benefits system. If anything I’ve found that my local Job Centre Plus has been a hindrance. They are unable to fund training courses or provide any meaningful opportunities to improve my CV. There are no ‘carrots’ only ‘sticks’. I am forced to apply for jobs just for the sake of it – lots that I know I stand no chance of getting – to prevent my dole money being taken away.

And the benefits system is not quite as generous as tabloids would have you believe. My limited ‘income’ means I’m increasingly drifting apart from friends. Living off £8.08 per day is incredibly isolating and isolation is hardly a recipe for appearing confident at interview.

I have now been out of work for long enough that the gap on my CV since my last employment is becoming an issue. Some may say that honesty is the best policy but I’ve found that a gap of several months is a big turn-off for employers who rightly question what I’ve been doing for the past few months.

I hardly care about the money anymore. I want the self-confidence and self-respect that earning a wage brings. The quiet dignity of working life. I’m desperate for work and just want to be given a chance.  Who is going to give me that chance though?

Daniel Cooper lives in Basildon, Essex and is looking for work in London. He tweets as @danieljcooper0

“Despite the latest figures showing a slight fall in youth unemployment it remains one of the most important issues facing the country. There is no room for complacency.

“The number of young people unemployed continues to hover around one million, and has done for nearly four years.  The Government must embark on bold structural reforms that prevent young people from slipping through the cracks, as well as a series of pro-enterprise measures such as tax and NI breaks for employers.”

“Long-term youth joblessness remains a huge challenge. Today’s figures show nearly 100,000 16-24 year olds have not worked for over two years, and nearly 274,000 have been unemployed for over 12 months.”

“By failing to get to grips with devastating youth unemployment we are condemning a generation. We need all political parties taking action on this most pressing issue.”

Download press release

Contact
Lottie Dexter
Director, Million Jobs
lottie@millionjobs.org.uk
07964 573 977

Notes to editors
1) Million Jobs stands up for young people without work. We want government, companies and communities to make a big, organised effort to give our young people a first shot. You can find us at www.facebook.com/millionjobs or @MillionJobs_.

2) p18: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_307508.pdf

“The number of unemployed people in the UK jumped by 70,000 in the three months to the end of February, and has reached 2.56 million.

Commenting on the figures, which show 979,000 young people are trapped out-of-work, Lottie Dexter of the campaign Million Jobs said:

Youth unemployment has risen by 20,000 and stuck at crisis point. The Government should explore new policies, like tax and National Insurance breaks. Long-term youth joblessness remains a huge challenge. The figures show 108,000 16-24 year olds have not worked for over two years, and nearly 450,000 have been unemployed for more than six months.”

Read the full article

She offered practical help and advice for young people struggling to find work. Lottie called on the Government to take big, bold action to empower businesses to hire more young people.

Listen here (17th April)

The number of young jobless is set to topple over one million this week, bringing more bad news for a “lost generation”.

Youth unemployment has risen consistently in 2013 and currently sits at 993,000; more than six times the population of Oxford. The consequences are damning and will reverberate through the economy and society for years to come. Unemployment harms finances and wellbeing; it breaks families and sinks communities. Not to mention the immediate cost to the Exchequer, it is thought youth unemployment cost more last year than the entire further education budget for 16-19 year olds.

Cracking youth unemployment makes sense because it will balance the books and safeguard our future and, quite frankly, our long-term prosperity hangs in the balance. Yet there is a deeper, moral case that says more about us as a society because no civilisation abandons their young. Our natural instinct is to protect vulnerable youngsters. This was highlighted in a recent Million Jobs/YouGov poll which found youth unemployment is one of the most important issues for voters; it ranked third below just the economy and immigration.

Ultimately, we can see young people struggling and inherently want to help them. However, there has been little action from the political class who have failed to buck up. Unfortunately “youth issues” don’t win elections, fewer than half 18-24 year olds voted in 2010, and so our leaders, who were writing Manifestos since they were in nappies, neglect to throw the under 25s a rope. They make people like Sam the exception and not the rule.

When Sam started his work placement he was shy and insecure, but less than five years down the line, he’s a self-assured Manager with an eye on promotion.

On his first day at work he had to borrow three quid for a sandwich and Snickers. For the first week he walked the five miles home because he couldn’t afford the bus fare. He claimed Housing Benefit to keep him afloat and wore the same shirt Monday-Friday for 6 weeks. Yet just a few years on and he’s a slick dresser, with a five star lifestyle who is saving to buy a house. With hard work, determination and raw opportunity he’s made it.

Everybody should have the chance that Sam had. We need to open these doors for one million more 16-24 year olds who are currently trapped outside in the cold.

The government must take big, bold and urgent action to help them get going. Deep-rooted reforms to enterprise, education and welfare would dissolve stubborn pockets of deprivation over the long-term. These big picture changes must be combined with a series of SOS measures that make a difference today.

Cuts to National Insurance and tax would be a huge boost to enterprise and help firms to hire. More than 50% of small businesses say tax breaks would encourage them to take on new staff. Furthermore, a more flexible employment environment would allow young people to flow freely through the jobs market and open new doors. Employment laws can be a major barrier for small businesses to hire. More than 30% of them say that exceptions from some employment legislation would help them take on more staff. The government must explore pro-enterprise measures that would empower businesses to hire.

This should be backed up in the long-run by reforms to education. Vocational colleges need to be revitalised, an emphasis on enterprise and employment must be injected into schools, and apprenticeships reformed to ensure the next generation have the right skills to get the jobs out there. For example, in Switzerland a vocational course is a popular and valued alternative to a degree; around two thirds of 15- to 19-year-olds go onto apprenticeships in Switzerland, compared to just 6% of 16- to 18-year-olds in England. The economic benefits are vast; £1 invested in apprenticeships contributes £18 to the wider economy, and on average apprentices will earn £100,000 more over the course of their lifetime.

This is the sort of action that we so badly need. I have had months of conversations with young unemployed people from all backgrounds, with youth workers, charities and small businesses, and these are the sorts of solutions that they are suggesting to me.

This week’s figures should serve to remind us that this problem will not go away overnight. We need action now because otherwise we are all doomed – not just the young unemployed.

 Read the article in full