Lack of opportunity for young people.
Employment is becoming increasingly difficult to find for young people! How many students at college do you know who have jobs? With only 1 in 6 young people aged 16-17 in employment (as of 2021), it would be surprising if this figure was a high one.
In the past decade, as technology has advanced, job advertisements have become more and more accessible due to apps like ‘Indeed’ where job seekers are notified about newly listed jobs close to them. However, this advancement is not as amazing as it may seem at first glance.
A surge in applications and interviews are online or digital which may not provide an accurate representation of the person. This also, unfortunately, allows more employers to focus on age and experience rather than what a young person could bring to the role and the essential experience and employable skills they could offer the young person too!
The Covid 19 Pandemic also played an important role in the rise in unemployment among young people. The lockdowns led to a huge number of redundancies in young people and had a disastrous effect on those who relied on their part-time jobs to support their education. Some may argue the economy is recovering and therefore the rate of employment is now steadily increasing as businesses open and hire people as before – this positive upturn in employment though is not reflected by a younger demographic.
Although the employment rates are increasing, it is difficult not to notice the low employment rates in young people around the country and, more locally, in the West Midlands, which is in the highest 20% of the UK for unemployment among 16-24yr olds.
It is very clear there is a disadvantage for young people gaining the experience needed for employment when their age counts against them. The cycle of unemployment and therefore disadvantage will continue if opportunities are not provided!
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