LGA responds to Impetus report on young people's employment gap

Wednesday, 24 April 2019 00:01

Responding to a report by Impetus which examines the nation’s ‘youth jobs gap’, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Local Government Association Skills spokesman, said: “No child’s life chances should be affected by where they grow up or how much their parent or guardian earns. “This report highlights how vital it is that our careers, education and training system is able to adapt to the needs of young people and a changing jobs market. That means...Request free trial

Responding to a report by Impetus which examines the nation’s ‘youth jobs gap’, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Local Government Association Skills spokesman, said:

“No child’s life chances should be affected by where they grow up or how much their parent or guardian earns.

“This report highlights how vital it is that our careers, education and training system is able to adapt to the needs of young people and a changing jobs market. That means giving them access to good careers advice and guidance so that they can make informed choices about their futures while action is taken to reduce poverty and promote social mobility to reduce the employment gap in the first place.

“Given the employment gap between poorer children and their more well-off peers, it is vital that young people are given access to a coherent post-16 offer, which covers both technical and academic pathways. As councils and employers know the specific needs of their communities, critical to the goal of addressing any skills gap is ensuring skills policy is place-based.

“The Government needs to consider LGA proposals for an integrated employment and skills service led by local authorities. Devolving careers advice, post-16 and adult skills budgets and powers to local areas, would allow councils, schools, colleges and employers to work together to improve provision for young people so that they can get on in life.”

Notes to Editors:

· In July 2017, the LGA launched Work Local – an ambitious but practical vision for devolved and integrated employment and skills provision.

· The LGA has also put together a series of Skills Taskforce roundtables designed to bring together industry experts and sector representatives with an interest in making our skills and employment system as effective as possible. For more information click here.

· The LGA’s #CouncilsCan campaign aims to influence the forthcoming Spending Review and highlight the growing risk to vital local services if the Government does not take action to secure the financial sustainability of councils. Visit our campaign page for more information - https://www.local.gov.uk/spending-review-2019.