Reforms to Further Education funding, the apprenticeship levy,
the skills system, careers guidance and the national curriculum
are urgently needed to tackle the problem of youth unemployment,
according to the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee.
Published today, the cross-party Committee’s report, ‘Skills for
every young person’, also recommends a new Education and
Workplace Race Equality Strategy to tackle discrimination, a new
strategy to tackle skills gaps, and a new, independent Young
People's Commissioner to champion the voice of those aged 16 to
24.
, Chair of the Youth
Unemployment Committee, said:
“Youth unemployment has blighted our society for decades and its
impact can endure for years. At 11.7%, the UK’s youth
unemployment rate continues to be worse than many other
countries, and today more than one in eight (12.6%) of our under
25s are neither working nor in full-time study.
“Over 10 months, we spoke to young people with experience of
unemployment, employers, school leaders and experts. Our report
makes over 70 recommendations which would help to tackle youth
unemployment. We urge the government to act.”
COVID-19 was a perfect storm for youth unemployment. 70% of
employee job losses were amongst under-25s. At its height,
unemployment rates reached nearly 15%, and some groups were hit
even worse, with the rate for young black people skyrocketing to
over 40%. In March it was predicted that the economic and fiscal
costs of youth unemployment could reach £10 billion in 2022.
Today, 631,000 (9.3%) young people are not in education,
employment or training (NEET) and 475,000 (7%) are unemployed.
21.8% (141,000) of 18-year-olds are neither in full-time
education nor work with training.
The Committee’s key findings and recommendations include:
- There are skills gaps and shortages in a
variety of existing and emerging sectors, damaging productivity.
The Government must develop a long-term national plan for
identifying, anticipating, measuring and addressing skills gaps
and shortages with a focus on the needs of the digital and green
economy. To ensure young people are equipped with the essential
knowledge and the technical, cultural and creative skills the
economy demands, the Government must recalibrate the compulsory
components of the national curriculum and performance measures,
putting skills development at the centre.
- Access to high quality careers education,
information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) enables young
people to understand all the possible careers and routes open to
them. The Government must make CEIAG a compulsory element of the
curriculum in all schools from Key Stage 1 to 4 alongside
religious education, and sex and relationships education, as part
of a Career Guidance Guarantee.
-
Further Education has been undervalued and
significantly underfunded. The Government must devise a new
method of funding for FE, determined by student demand, and
students accessing the Lifetime Skills Guarantee at levels 2
and 3 should attract automatic in-year funding determined by a
tariff. This would ensure the availability of places, and
result in extra funding so that institutions can recruit high
quality teachers and obtain the latest industry-standard
equipment.
-
Apprenticeships are in short supply, and
current funding mechanisms tend to benefit older, more
experienced workers. The Government must require that any
employer receiving funding from the apprenticeship levy must
spend at least two thirds of that funding on people who begin
apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 before the age of 25.
- Some groups of young people face additional barriers
to work, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic
(BAME) groups, those disadvantaged by socio-economic background,
and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities
(SEND). The Government must launch an Education and Workplace
Race Equality Strategy, focussing on removing barriers including
mandating regular collection of data. It must ensure every
disadvantaged young person has access to tailored careers
guidance.
- While the Government has introduced measures including
Kickstart, Careers Hubs and Youth Hubs, youth unemployment policy
is created in silos, resulting in a confusing landscape of
initiatives and a lack of accountability at the
top. The Government must appoint an independent Young People's
Commissioner to be the voice of youth aged 16 to 24.
The report will be available on the committee's website
shortly after publication.