A new government brings a flurry of white papers and policy announcements. The latest is the Get Britain Working white paper, aiming to increase employment. A key plank is a new Youth Guarantee, so all 18-21 year olds are offered help to find a job, training or apprenticeship.
There’s almost one million 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET), a number which has risen since the pandemic. This is a disaster in waiting, as being out of work or education when young can do long-term damage to your pay and job prospects.
While everyone can agree we need to do better, some have criticised the government for being high on rhetoric but low on action.
It’s true that there isn’t much new money committed or any big, shiny new initiatives announced. But the last thing we need is yet another initiative, and what looks shiny at first glance often seems less so over time.
The problem we’ve had isn’t too few initiatives; it’s the lack of a plan.
The government’s idea is that metro mayors and other local leaders should get everyone round the table and agree a plan for how we’re going to contact every young person in an area and what we’re going to offer them.
That should include making sure young people are offered the best help for them, referring them to the agency best placed to help even if it’s not yourself.
That’s a good idea, though we need to make sure those plans have bite – that providers and stakeholders are required to stick to the plan and that we don’t have other government departments pulling rank and preventing true collaboration and different ways of working.
And of course there’s a risk we have too many plans: growth plans, get Britain working plans, skills improvement plans, etc – when what we need is a little less conversation, a little more action.
So I hope local leaders will focus on the action part of action plans. If we do that, we can help more young people with the resources we already have.
The Youth Guarantee gives us a hook to make our case
But a guarantee is no good if there aren’t enough good jobs, training places or apprenticeship opportunities.
The government’s aiming to encourage more employers to offer young people a chance, but that will require the economy to grow faster than the rubbish pace we’ve got used to since 2008 (another key government mission).
We’re also expecting more details on how they intend to reform the apprenticeship system to encourage more apprenticeships for young people starting their career. This is a sensible move given the disastrous fall in youth apprenticeships since 2017.
Will empowering mayors and reforming apprenticeship funding be enough? In truth, probably not.
I hope the government will look at raising funding for further education, how changes in benefit rules could help young people combine flexible learning with job search, and a Kickstart-style job subsidy scheme for those who find it toughest to find work.
Those are all decisions for next year’s spending review. While that doesn’t look promising (budget figures suggest less money for areas like skills and employment support, not more), the government’s commitment to the Youth Guarantee gives us a hook to make the case for what we need to make it a reality.
A final plea from me though. It’s great we have a Youth Guarantee, but can we please make it 16-24 year olds rather than 18-21 year olds? That would give us a chance to build a more joined-up transition from education to work.
Only 5 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds are NEET, but that’s 5 per cent too many and has consequences for them for years to come. Let’s not forget them too.
The ultimate measure of success is whether NEET rates go down, and whether young people spend a shorter amount of time NEET. The ultimate prize is young people being prepared for their futures, employers better able to meet their needs and an economy that’s growing again.
And reaching that prize is the best argument for making the most of a further education system that is brilliantly placed to make the difference.
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