News
e-YPU Issue 315, 11 August 2010
11 August 2010
Education, employment and training
A study by The Prince’s Trust has revealed that that young people from workless families are significantly more likely to struggle to find a job themselves, and feel far less confident about their future. The report, ‘Destined for the Dole?’ interviewed over 2,000 16-to-24-year-olds and found that 70 per cent have struggled to find a job, while nearly one in five (18 per cent) expect to end up on benefits because other people around them have. Living in an area with high unemployment also impacts on young people’s aspirations and confidence. Two-fifths (39 per cent) of those living in communities with high levels of unemployment worry they will never find a good job. However, the survey also reveals that young people want to work and more than six out of ten (63 per cent) believe that having more volunteering opportunities in their local area would give them the skills they needed to find a job.
The TUC has published a new analysis of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) data which shows that the number of 18-24 year olds claiming JSA for over six months has increased in two thirds of local authorities across the UK. However, long-term unemployment among 18-24 year olds represents less than a third of the total number of young people out of work, which reached 338,000 between March and May 2010. In ten local authorities across the UK, the number of long-term unemployed young people has doubled.
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has published the latest National Employers Skills Survey for England (2009) which surveyed around 80,000 employers about their skills needs, training activity and product market strategies. The report found that only 23 per cent of employers recruited 16-to-24-year-olds in 2009, compared with 26 per cent in 2007. Two-thirds of employers (66 per cent) that had recruited 16-year-olds found them to be well or very well prepared for work, as did almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of employers that had recruited 17 or 18-year-old college or school leavers, and 85 per cent of employers that had recruited HE leavers into their first job.
Youth justice
Minister for Youth Justice Crispin Blunt and Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb, have written to Shireen Ritchie, chair of the LG Association's Children and Young People's Board to announce that legislation that will give young people in custody the same entitlement to education as mainstream pupils will not now take effect until 1 April 2011. It was initially scheduled to take effect in September.
The Young Foundation has published Turning the Corner: beyond incarceration and re-offending. The report provides an overview of both the challenges and potential solutions to alternatives to custody. It calls for more experimentation and innovation in the criminal justice system, including the creation of Young Adult Offender Teams to help manage the transition of a young person from the care of the Youth Offending Team into the supervision of the Probation Service, and ‘employment deployers' to help former young offenders into work. It also calls for a reduction in the number of children and young people who go to prison for breaching their supervision conditions which, the report claims, costs £50,000 per young person a year.
Research
The Jack Petchey Foundation has published Listen Up! a survey of over 6,000 16-to-25-year-olds about their views on life and politics; their ambitions, role models, and concerns. The report reveals that, contrary to popular stereotyping, young people are engaged in politics, have a strong sense of social responsibility and are not interested in fame and fortune. Three-quarters (75 per cent) say they regularly volunteer or help other people. Other findings suggest that 45 per cent of young people believe that politicians do not genuinely care about them. When asked what they want the government to do for young people, 26 per cent said abolish tuition fees for university students and 16 per cent said create more apprenticeships and job opportunities. Over half (59 per cent) say they are misunderstood by adults.
Events
The United Nations International Year of Youth begins on 12 August 2010. The Year will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first International Youth Year in 1985 on the theme Participation, Development and Peace. This year’s theme is Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. National Youth Agency (NYA) chief executive Fiona Blacke has welcomed the start of the UN International Year of Youth and highlighted the return of Youth Work Week in November, which will support the International Year of Youth.
To coincide with International Youth Day and the start of the UN International Year of Youth, the Commonwealth Youth Programme in partnership with Y-Participate are running ‘Your Year, Your Voice’ a celebration event and consultation with young people and their active participation in influencing decision-makers. The day will also mark the launch of ‘Y-Participate’ a global youth-led initiative providing relevant tools for meaningful youth participation in decisions that affect them. The celebration event will take place on the 12 August 2010 followed by a youth consultation on 19 August at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
The NYA has published its new events programme for the popular Money Mastery courses. Working in partnership with Lloyds TSB Foundation, the NYA is holding a series of dedicated training events across the UK to equip youth professionals with essential skills for addressing young people’s relationship with money. The free training courses are being run from October 2010 through to May 2011.