This week, the UK government published its interim young people and work report. The report outlines the many challenges facing young people, leaving one in eight people aged 16 to 24 in the UK out of education, employment, or training.
Mandy Coppin, Everyturn’s Head of Children and Young People’s Services, commented:
“This report clearly describes so many of the factors that are impacting what the government describes as the ‘lost generation’, where opportunities are shrinking for our young people. Despite young people wanting to work, the jobs are simply not there.
“It’s a powerful report, but it comes at a time when the resourcing and funding for youth groups, sports clubs, and other services has hit an all-time low. This has led to a huge reduction in young people being able to access informal social, emotional, and educational activities after school. In the past, youth and community workers in these groups could support young people in getting into volunteering and sessional work, which led to part-time and full-time paid work.
“At Everyturn, we see the impact of these political and economic decisions every day, as we support young people who are finding it hard to hold onto hope for their future. Of course we’re also seeing a rise in mental health issues in young people alongside these challenges: it’s all connected.
“To tackle the issue of youth unemployment specifically, we should certainly prioritise subsidised employment opportunities for our young people, so we welcome the government’s recently announced funding package. But I also believe we should overhaul our education system to include more focus on building life skills, entrepreneurial development, creativity, arts, career advice, communication skills, emotional resilience and regulation – alongside building aspirations and empowerment.
“The issues outlined in this report are hugely complex and interconnected, and also involve many other factors that shape the lives of our young people, including social media. Their lived reality requires us to think urgently and creatively to create an environment for our people to grow up in that allows them to flourish.
“Referring to this generation of brilliant young people as ‘lost’ is unhelpful. They are the let-down generation, and it’s up to us to change that. Our young people have ideas, hopes, and skills that deserve to be encouraged, brought to life, and celebrated. Young people will benefit from that – and the rest of us will too.”