We must unlock our young talent and potential

Oct 21 2008 by Liz Mayes for The Journal

BRITAIN ranks 23rd out of 28 in the OECD’s league table of young people not in education, employment or training – so-called ‘Neets’ – often despite far lower unemployment rates overall.

This equates to one in 10 young people in the UK, in France this is one in 16 and in Germany only one in 23.

CBI today launches a new report looking at the challenges this ranking poses as Britain’s failure to get young people off the streets and into work leaves them vulnerable to becoming involved in crime, to ill health and a life at the margins of society as the people that prosperity forgot.

Although the number of young people Neet has fallen by 1% over the last year, we believe that the picture could worsen dramatically in the months ahead as the economy falters, with the OECD saying: “the position of youth deteriorates much more than that of adults when adverse economic conditions unfold.”

We suggest at least £5m a week – or £260m a year – could be saved if the number of young people claiming benefits was halved, a goal that is achievable if the government improves the way public services are offered to them. Tackling the Neets problem need not involve spending more money, but rather spending it more wisely and efficiently.

We must make better use of innovative and personalised services that address the complex problems these young people face.

We are making recommendations to help reduce the number of young people Neet, including encouraging one-to-one relationships between advisers and Neets, with young people given more say in the services they use; providing a one-stop shop approach to supporting young people, providing access to services to such as careers guidance, health information, legal help, housing support and IT assistance in one package rather than from multiple sources; and making the National Apprenticeship Service more attractive to employers by cutting red tape and improving the relevance of qualifications.

Tackling these issues is critical to business in order to unlock the talent and potential that exists, and to ensure positive benefits for the whole of society.

Liz Mayes, assistant regional director, CBI North East