The Workers Union is calling for a youth jobs plan for young people left behind by the COVID pandemic.
The announcement came after expert coalition the Youth Employment Group wrote an open letter to Boris Johnson asking for more to be done to help young people find work or access education and training.
The group found that 1 in 8 young people are out of work or do not attend a course of education or training. They argue that the government must ensure that it provides a job or training opportunity to every young person that leaves secondary or tertiary education.
The letter goes on to state that levelling up the economy for young people requires a major cash boost in the autumn spending review, as well as a cross-departmental approach to tackling the causes of youth unemployment in both the short and long term.
The letter says: ‘In the coming months, we need to maintain momentum on helping jobseekers and education leavers and do far more for young people from marginalised backgrounds and those furthest from the labour market. With at least half a million young people leaving full-time education this summer, we cannot afford to assume a youth employment recovery, as the situation for young people experiencing disadvantages remains precarious and uncertain.’
A spokesperson for The Workers Union said: ‘The young people of today are the lifeblood of the economy of tomorrow. They are the workers, the innovators and the entrepreneurs who will carry on writing the pages in this country’s venerable success story.
‘To ignore their plight would be to condemn a generation to uncertainty and harm our prospects of generating sustained and lasting growth. We need a coherent plan for their future, and we need one now.’
The Workers Union on Youth Employment
This organisation has long been a champion of youth education and employment. We believe that investing in youth builds a stronger social contract between government, institutions and the people, and creates a less short-termist view of the cycle of economic development.
At the same time, we acknowledge that during the COVID crisis, the Johnson administration was placed under more pressure than any government since the Second World War. It is remarkable then, that so much has been achieved through the Kickstart scheme and other initiatives.
Nonetheless, the country approaches an important crossroads. The direction we take will define the prospects of young people for a generation. Now is the time to be brave, to be bold and take decisions that safeguard the future for all of us.
The Workers Union – fighting for social justice, fighting for you
