Out of work and out of education ...

The OECD report, Education at a Glance, makes depressing reading for all those involved with young people - and that means all of us. Out of 32 nations, the UK had the ninth highest figures for NEET. And we ranked 26th for young people remaining in education up to the age of 19. In 2009, the most recent year for which there is comparative data, the NEET rate was just about 10%.

And that was 2009; for 2010 it will be even worse. We know that youth unemployment is increasing rapidly, and the ending of EMAs is having a direct effect on school and college post-16 recruitment, even though this is partly offset by bursaries. But because bursaries are essentially local, we have lost all the powerful national information to young people about EMAs. And the Connexions Service has also been slashed, removing important sources of unbiased information to young people.

So when we see the OECD figures for 2010 next year, and for the this year in 2012, we can confidently but despondently expect to see that we have slipped further down the league tables. And because NEET is a highly differentiated category, linked strongly to poverty, we can expect to see really serious hot-spots.

I've argued elsewhere that the recent social unrest was not caused by the cuts, or indeed that young people were substantially involved, whatever the media perception. But I am very uneasy about the next few years, and for this generation of young people. I'm not saying they will be a lost generation, but the signs are not good. If you were an employer, would you prefer to employ a school or college leaver who is just finishing full-time education, or a young person who has been out of work for two years?

Somehow, and I'm not sure how, perhaps though the remaining youth services, the National Citizen Service, or voluntary organisations, we need to find some ways of engaging these young people positively, and giving them something positive on their CVs.