SO, YOUTH unemployment has exceeded one million for the first time in nearly 20 years. It may seem that this is unsurprising, considering the state of the economy in the last few years, but it is wholly unacceptable nonetheless.

If businesses sit back and accept this statistic as simply another indicator of the UK economy and the problems it has faced, we will find ourselves gradually slipping into a skills void as experienced people leave the workforce, with no skilled young people to replace them.

What is more, businesses have a moral and commercial obligation to take on apprentices and young people from within the communities in which they operate.

It is vital that new blood is brought into our country’s industries, because otherwise these skills shortages will become huge problems.

This has been a particular issue in the construction sector in recent years, so we see it as vital that young people are employed, trained and nurtured to become the workforce of tomorrow.

Southdale currently has 21 apprentices across two major sites in Darlington and Loftus, and we as a company are looking for opportunities to increase those numbers. In addition to this, students from Redcar and Cleveland College are spending time on a placement programme which will run until June 2012.

Also, any company which wishes to become a supplier or sub-contractor to our business must agree to taking on at least one apprentice.

A number of solutions to the problem of rising youth unemployment have been proposed, including a scheme whereby the Government pays for an obligatory first apprentice in every company which does not already have one. Businesses should not sit and wait for Government to do something about it.

We each have the power to make a difference by investing in not only the future of a young person, but the future of our own organisations.

For more information on Constructing Excellence in the North East, please contact chief executive, Catriona Lingwood, on 0191 374 0233 or catriona@cene.org.uk

Paul Oldridge is North East regional director of Southdale