Nicholas Connolly, CEO of EveryYouth, responds to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ proposed employment scheme at the Labour Party Conference, outlining why young people need meaningful, long-term opportunities.
Today at the Labour Party conference, Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to offer work placements for every young person who hasn’t been in work or education for 18 months.
If they don’t accept, the young person could be stripped of their benefits.
An estimated one-in-eight 16-24-year-olds are not currently in education, employment or training – around 948,000 people – according to the latest figures. The numbers hit an 11-year high of 987,000 at the end of last year.
The number of job vacancies in the UK has been falling, hitting their lowest level since the pandemic earlier this year.
The Chancellor promised “nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment”.
“This policy has the potential to be a transformational stepping stone towards reducing an unacceptable and frankly shameful 11-year high of youth employment in the UK. But if this forces young people into dead-end work for minimum wage, without addressing root issues, it will cause more harm than good.
“Young people need and want to work to gain independence, whether that be affording to move out of home for the first time or, for our most disadvantaged, including 118,000 young people experiencing homelessness, affording to put a roof over their heads.
“But there are myriad barriers that prevent our most marginalised from entering the workplace, including overcoming significant trauma and educational deficits. Work placements in isolation won’t help and neither will a scheme based on threats. Experience tells is that whenever benefits are sanctioned, it is the most vulnerable who suffer.
“In order for this scheme is to be a success, cash-strapped and risk adverse businesses need guarantees that hiring a young person will benefit them in the long term, while young people need meaningful full-time and sustainable work, they can be proud of. It is concerning to us that the government is seeking to roll this scheme out through existing DWP infrastructure which has contributed to creating this issue in the first place.
“We want to hear more about whether employers will be up skilled to support young people who are neurodivergent and represent a significant proportion of our most vulnerable young people. Is the government intending to fund mentoring schemes to help our most vulnerable young people adapt and thrive?
“Are the work placements guaranteed to be accessible and realistic for the young person. What happens in places where public transport infrastructure is insufficient? Will funding be made available to bridge the financial barriers which hold young people back?”
