'Lost generation’: why can’t young people get jobs? What should be done?

Silvershadow

Volunteering can often lead to a paid job. They learn skills such as communication, teamwork, following instructions, getting somewhere on time. All skills required for a paid role.

Agreed Silvershadow.

My grandson volunteered in the local village community shop (run by volunteers) every Saturday morning for 18 months while he was at school.

It really helped him develop an understanding of ‘the world of work’. When he applied for uni places he was able to include this on his personal statement.

It also helped him get part time work during student hols.

Getting up early every Saturday morning to work as a community volunteer certainly paid dividends for him.

As I said before, volunteering or not working is cannot be afforded by many families. Mine had to find paid work even if it wasn’t related to their degree. We couldn’t afford to sub them completely (I still fed and housed them) I couldn’t be doing with grown adults sitting about the house whilst I went out to work. It’s disrespectful

My father considered it a failure when a pupil left with no job to go to. - He was head of a special school in the 50's and 60's, and had just taken it on himself to try to place 'his' leavers. I know it was a different world then but... His pupils left at 15 with no qualifications - no assessments then for 'slow' pupils. He would phone local factories and shops etc and then take boys or girls to meet and see where they might fit. I remember him finding jobs in the jam factory, GuestKeenandNettlefold, British Rail etc. We can't go back, but a bit of ownership of the problem by schools might help.

JaneJudge

As I said before, volunteering or not working is cannot be afforded by many families. Mine had to find paid work even if it wasn’t related to their degree. We couldn’t afford to sub them completely (I still fed and housed them) I couldn’t be doing with grown adults sitting about the house whilst I went out to work. It’s disrespectful

Very true JaneJudge and nobody is saying otherwise but if there are no paid jobs out there, volunteering could lead to one. They’ll get to know other people of all ages, friends of friends might know of a job somewhere. Anything is better than sitting at home bored, depressed and the devil makes work for idle hands as we all know.

The BBC have an article today about pilot schemes in two different areas to help young people. One is in Sefton or Salford, the other linked to a school. Both with good results it would appear.

Agreed silvershadow 😊

Before the introduction of the National Curriculum,all teachers taught to their strengths, showing interests in a huge variety of things, encouraging their pupils .If students liked the teacher they enjoyed the subject.We can all remember our favourite teacher at secondary school, the subject we did best in.Grammar schools and secondary moderns were much more useful.If you were academic then go to grammar schools and,if more practical strengths,then go to sec mod.It made sense and suited the child.It is such a sad state of affairs now.

I took on an apprentice age 16. I had a choice of people to employ but they smashed the interview. Took me about 6 months to get through that work is not school and going off sick for a cold is not an option and it’s certainly been harder than taking on a person with certain life skills which serve well in the work environment but they are getting it now and will hopefully build on the foundations laid. I had the opportunity at 16. I’m half I got the chance to do this for another young person.

Cossy

Sadly, though this had steadily worsened, it’s not a new phenomenon.

The term “NEET” was first coined in 1994 and here we are all these years later with similar issues.

I think what needs to happen, according to circumstances, is that when 18+ turn up at the jobcentre having made a claim to Universal Credit, so much more needs to be done with them by “work coaches” to actually coach them into sustainable work.

These young people should be coming into jobcentres daily and help given every step of the way, appointments with better trained coaches lasting more than 10 minutes should take place and much closer connections made between job centres and local employers, better grants available to local employers to take on entry level staff and a limit put on how long an 18+ year old can claim benefits, particularly if they’re childless and still living at home with parents.

There need to be the jobs there in the first instance and there should be incentives for those prepared to take jobs and penalties for those not prepared to look for work.

Bring back proper school career officers and look at secondary school curriculum to be more attuned with work.

It is definitely not something new, I was talking about this with a friend and we were reminiscing about the Thatcher years, I knew that unemployment reached 10% but when I looked into it further youth unemployment peaked at 30% in 1981. I was teaching in further education at the time and I remember some of my lovely GCSE and BTEC students talking about their struggles to find employment.

I don’t often agree with paddyann, but she is right about expectations, not just from the young people, but also from their parents.

I agree too.

tanith

I have a Granddaughter who thinks shes unemployable I'm so sad for her. Her exams were in the middle of Covid all her last year study was at home and she failed them and shes not the same girl. She had one job for 3mths and then they cut back and let her go. She is now depressed and losing hope of being able start her adult life. It makes me very angry for all those affected.

How does she eat buy clothes, maybe if who ever is funding this state or family stopped she would have to work. My son sounds the same age he's always worked I made him. Has she been brought up by family who don't work, maybe it's a learnt behavior.

I think what we have to understand is that the world of work is changing for everyone, everywhere and the "solutions" of past decades are often irrelevant and unhelpful. For many people in the workplace commiting everything to memory is no longer necessary and the ability to find, evaluate, apply and present information in context are critical.
My medical student grandchild does have to learn and retain huge amounts of information in her head, to apply instantly in critical situations. Another grandchild, who works in a PR company needs exceptional skills in presenting information from a range of media sources, many of them on line.
It is unfair and wrong to condemn a whole generation as lazy, entitled, ignorant, fragile and all the other unpleasant things expressed on this thread. It might be worth remembering that we did not much like the negative qualities attributed to Boomers when that was fashionable.

The real problem has been government policy, sending 50% of students to university then not providing jobs for them, even worse recruiting migrants to do the work because it was cheaper.

There will be no change until a positive change in policy is made to match education to the nations needs

Graduate unemployment has been a problem globally for years - all part of the drive to make HE accessible for more people (good idea in theory) rather than purely for the landed gentry. This situation perpetuates itself because the graduates-to-be, surveying opportunities decide for themselves not to try to enter the unappealing job market and instead get into further debt by enrolling on a one-year Master's course which they believe will demarcate them from those without this additional qualification. However, even with a Master's degree starting salaries are not always what they're looking for and disillusionment sets in with many.

In my job as a therapist (previous academic) I've seen many very 'qualified' people taking up jobs as barristas, cinema workers, opening cleaning businesses and some combining shift working in such places with dog walking. These are traditionally the jobs taken by those with fewer (if any) qualifications. During the script writers' strike a couple of years ago, large numbers of people working in film production and on very high daily rates were without work and gravitated into theatre, cinema and coffee shop/hospitality shift work, removing opportunities for those lower down the food chain. This is structural. Incidentally, I have no answer - I believe everyone has the right to an extended education and a degree + if they want it but I do find that parents are often problematic in projecting their own selfish need for personal reputation onto their children from an early age such that these kids can't think of doing anything other than progressing to uni and often to the most prestigious in their parents' eyes. This is cultural.

In the future, careers education in schools will have to reclaim its rightful place because there won't be any jobs that we recognise for our GCs. And as part of this there needs to be education for parents to ensure a shift from pressuring their children to proceed with their education just to compete with other parents. I know this may sound cynical but I've heard all too often "Oh x is at Oxford" rather than "O x is doing a nursing degree" or "x is studying to become a ..." We have to shift our ideas of what we value in society so that the roles people play become more important than wider family reputation.

David49

The real problem has been government policy, sending 50% of students to university then not providing jobs for them, even worse recruiting migrants to do the work because it was cheaper.

There will be no change until a positive change in policy is made to match education to the nations needs

Given the impact of AI and robotics on employment how would you define the "nation's needs" in ten to twenty years time? What changes would you make to education to meet those needs?

My grandchildren volunteered before they reached school leaving age,I,m pretty sure you all feed and support them then.

Milburn has yet to publish the second part of his Neet report, i.e. containing recommendations to address the issue.

But I see the Government has now tasked the former CEO of Marks and Spencer to bring business leaders together to expand opportunities for young people and deliver the Governmen';s "youth guarantee" for every person age 18 to 21 to have access to employment, training or education.

Seems like a pragmatic first step.

Mamie

David49

The real problem has been government policy, sending 50% of students to university then not providing jobs for them, even worse recruiting migrants to do the work because it was cheaper.

There will be no change until a positive change in policy is made to match education to the nations needs

Given the impact of AI and robotics on employment how would you define the "nation's needs" in ten to twenty years time? What changes would you make to education to meet those needs?

Send 25% of the students to university, only on courses that the nation needs this will change from year to year as the economy changes, those courses will be free to the student. Any student wanting to study other courses would pay.

The 75% would attend local or online technical college and learn a skill. More people learning skill will reduce the cost of skilled Labour, the only reason skilled Labour is so expensive is because the supply is short.

Schools will stop over inflating children's prospects and raise behaviour standards for all pupils.

You did ask!

I know from family abroad that there are extended opportunities for young people in the EU who are NEET.
This initiative is for the most vulnerable, including those with disabilities and learning difficulties. ALMA is Aim. Learn, Master, Achieve.

employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/skills-and-qualifications/alma-active-inclusion-initiative-young-people_en

David49

Mamie

David49

The real problem has been government policy, sending 50% of students to university then not providing jobs for them, even worse recruiting migrants to do the work because it was cheaper.

There will be no change until a positive change in policy is made to match education to the nations needs

Given the impact of AI and robotics on employment how would you define the "nation's needs" in ten to twenty years time? What changes would you make to education to meet those needs?

Send 25% of the students to university, only on courses that the nation needs this will change from year to year as the economy changes, those courses will be free to the student. Any student wanting to study other courses would pay.

The 75% would attend local or online technical college and learn a skill. More people learning skill will reduce the cost of skilled Labour, the only reason skilled Labour is so expensive is because the supply is short.

Schools will stop over inflating children's prospects and raise behaviour standards for all pupils.

You did ask!

You haven't answered my question about what the nation's needs will be, though. 😂

It is to be hoped that the UK learns from EU initiatives.

Youth Guarantee: A continent-wide policy commitment where Member States ensure all young people under age 30 receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship, or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.

ALMA (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve): An active inclusion initiative for highly vulnerable NEETs (ages 18–29) facing barriers like disabilities, long-term unemployment, or migrant backgrounds. It combines tailored domestic training with a supervised, work-related placement in another EU country, followed by intensive reintegration support.European Social Fund+

(ESF+) Social Innovation+: A multi-million euro funding stream dedicated to scaling up innovative and localized methods for upskilling vulnerable youth, particularly focusing on re-engaging them in learning and facilitating labour market reintegration.

Erasmus+ NEETs for NEETs: A co-creative, civil society-led project where former NEETs actively help train the professionals and organizations who support at-risk youth on a daily basis.

I HOPE that since I and also my DD1 finished school career advice has improved.. I had 7 "O" levels but was offered a job checking pools. My DD1 wanted to be a vet . The adviser at her school advised anybody wanting to do a science based degree to study Pharmacology. He had a one track mind. Every year, the list of degree graduates from that school included Pharmacology. It seemed to be "short straw" type of appointment in schools.

Back in the Nineties it was all but hammered into sixth-formers that University would set them up for life: now, that same route has turned into a dreadful financial millstone with the frightening advance of AI closing down job opportunities very rapidly.

In 16/17 years time I wonder how abysmal education and employment prospects will be for my great nephew?

It's going to take a staggering miracle to even start to turn things round. Or maybe some future government will have the bright idea of reviving Conscription as the answer to everything?

Padstow13

Back in the Nineties it was all but hammered into sixth-formers that University would set them up for life: now, that same route has turned into a dreadful financial millstone with the frightening advance of AI closing down job opportunities very rapidly.

In 16/17 years time I wonder how abysmal education and employment prospects will be for my great nephew?

It's going to take a staggering miracle to even start to turn things round. Or maybe some future government will have the bright idea of reviving Conscription as the answer to everything?

Except that warfare may only involve drones and no people on ground, sea and air at all.

gransruleok

Back when my girls were young, women stayed at home to raise their family, I’m 80 and I was frequently heard blaming the lack of parental control on working mothers, because when a woman came home from work, she was exhausted, running a home and raising children is hard enough, without having a Job outside the home. Now, women are being forced to work when a lot of them would rather be there for their youngsters. Now the government are wondering why there are no jobs left for school leavers. I can do the math, why can’t they?

Obviously I don't know where you live gransruleok, but I'm in England and 5 yrs younger than you. I worked full-time for 40 yrs and brought up 2 kids, now in their 30s. Women staying at home reminds me of the 1950s and early 60s.
Mums working has little to do with youngsters finding the world of work difficult in 2026