The government cuts have hit a wide range of sectors heavily, but no age group has been hit as hard as the 16-24 year old’s. 1 in 5 16-24 year olds are unemployed in Britain today, with the 50-60 age group suffering the least (indeed they’re the one’s who’ve suffered the least throughout the recession).
The problem is the way the cuts have been made; in order to avoid the headlines both government and private sector employers have opted for the “cutting admissions” route i.e. to avoid redundancy headlines they’ve gotten rid of intake. Furthermore they have all attacked the “back-room” staff, people who are not engaged in front-line services. Of course, in both cases, this is going to hit people at the bottom of the employment ladder the hardest.
Furthermore, if you take the eradication of the Future Jobs Fund you’re looking at a very damaging situation for the youth of Britain.
Naturally this is just one line, if you then look at things like the tripling of tuition fees in England and the fact that those between the ages of 16-24 do not believe that they will ever be able to afford to own a home then you are looking at a very grim situation indeed.
What is most frustrating is the attitude of many in the 40s-60s age bracket; which is very much a “tough luck” one, whilst they were given degrees for the price of nothing alongside free grants (regardless of the parental income), had full expectancy to be able to afford a home by their early 30s and had half the unemployment troubles of the 80s.
Many employers have worked out that “jobs” for young people are now a commodity, where they are actually charging young people to come to work for them. The situation is outrageous, with more than 80 graduates applying for every graduate job it is frightening to see just how much disdain our government has for our generation.
Osbourne’s answer was to give 18-21 year olds the opportunity to work for 8 months voluntarily... and there’s a limited number of places.
I wish I could say differently for the continent, but alas the situation is just as grim there; in spain as high as 44% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed; however it is worth noting that the proportional difference between national unemployment and the age categories. Whilst the difference between the two in Spain is about 2 times more 16-24 year olds are unemployed when proportionally compared with the rest of the country, in the UK it’s more than three times.
The thing is, the government’s tactics at handling youth unemployment is focused around the issue of training future generations in apprenticeships. But nothing in regard to job creation. Throughout my teenage years I was told repeatedly to get a degree, by my parents, teachers and any one who could get me to listen. A degree meant that I would get a “good job”. I was also told that my degree area was a good one, the school’s career adviser said that Archaeology was a good option, same with my parents and teachers. By the time I leave university I found that the situation was very different to that and, indeed, many employers have told me that my degree is the reason why they DIDN’T employ me. And what do telegraphy and daily mail readers say; they tell me that it’s silly to expect to get a good job at the end of my degree.
The problem I’m now facing is that not only am I struggling to find a good job, but ANY job is hard to get! There’s the cache 22 that you need to do a good job on your cv and covering letter/their application form whilst at the same time getting it in before their pile of applications forms too high.
It may sound like a selfish thing to say, or at least quite demanding. But the young people need jobs, not to be told that they trained in the wrong thing. And I’d love to see the government give a strong and useful response to that. But I’m not holding my breath.
The problem is the way the cuts have been made; in order to avoid the headlines both government and private sector employers have opted for the “cutting admissions” route i.e. to avoid redundancy headlines they’ve gotten rid of intake. Furthermore they have all attacked the “back-room” staff, people who are not engaged in front-line services. Of course, in both cases, this is going to hit people at the bottom of the employment ladder the hardest.
Furthermore, if you take the eradication of the Future Jobs Fund you’re looking at a very damaging situation for the youth of Britain.
Naturally this is just one line, if you then look at things like the tripling of tuition fees in England and the fact that those between the ages of 16-24 do not believe that they will ever be able to afford to own a home then you are looking at a very grim situation indeed.
What is most frustrating is the attitude of many in the 40s-60s age bracket; which is very much a “tough luck” one, whilst they were given degrees for the price of nothing alongside free grants (regardless of the parental income), had full expectancy to be able to afford a home by their early 30s and had half the unemployment troubles of the 80s.
Many employers have worked out that “jobs” for young people are now a commodity, where they are actually charging young people to come to work for them. The situation is outrageous, with more than 80 graduates applying for every graduate job it is frightening to see just how much disdain our government has for our generation.
Osbourne’s answer was to give 18-21 year olds the opportunity to work for 8 months voluntarily... and there’s a limited number of places.
I wish I could say differently for the continent, but alas the situation is just as grim there; in spain as high as 44% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed; however it is worth noting that the proportional difference between national unemployment and the age categories. Whilst the difference between the two in Spain is about 2 times more 16-24 year olds are unemployed when proportionally compared with the rest of the country, in the UK it’s more than three times.
The thing is, the government’s tactics at handling youth unemployment is focused around the issue of training future generations in apprenticeships. But nothing in regard to job creation. Throughout my teenage years I was told repeatedly to get a degree, by my parents, teachers and any one who could get me to listen. A degree meant that I would get a “good job”. I was also told that my degree area was a good one, the school’s career adviser said that Archaeology was a good option, same with my parents and teachers. By the time I leave university I found that the situation was very different to that and, indeed, many employers have told me that my degree is the reason why they DIDN’T employ me. And what do telegraphy and daily mail readers say; they tell me that it’s silly to expect to get a good job at the end of my degree.
The problem I’m now facing is that not only am I struggling to find a good job, but ANY job is hard to get! There’s the cache 22 that you need to do a good job on your cv and covering letter/their application form whilst at the same time getting it in before their pile of applications forms too high.
It may sound like a selfish thing to say, or at least quite demanding. But the young people need jobs, not to be told that they trained in the wrong thing. And I’d love to see the government give a strong and useful response to that. But I’m not holding my breath.
