IPPR proposes vocational reforms to reduce Neet level

A report by think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), called Remember the Young Ones, found that youth unemployment was low in countries where there was a clear vocational route in education and strong careers guidance in schools.

A high-level of employer involvement in vocational education through apprenticeships was also a contributing factor in their success in reducing the Neet population.

While conceding that youth unemployment had fallen in recent months, the latest figure of 868,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 who are out of work is still too high, says the IPPR.

Around 700,000 workless young people have never had a job and the Neet rate has barely moved in recent years, the think-tank adds. Even if full-time students are excluded from the figures, 16- to 24-year-olds are around three-and-a-half times more likely to be unemployed than a person aged 25, a ratio that has not changed significantly since 2007.

Recommendations include requiring all secondary schools to have a full-time careers officer responsible for both careers education, as well as improving links with local employers. The IPPR also says careers guidance should be provided by specialist advisers, not teachers.

The report suggested that better guidance from careers experts could help avert glaring mismatches in the youth labour market, pointing to the fact that 94,000 people were undertaking training in the beauty and hair sector with the hope of securing just 18,000 jobs. In contrast, just 123,000 were being trained in the construction and engineering sectors for an advertised 275,000 jobs.

IPPR chief economist Tony Dolphin said: “We can learn lots from countries like Germany and the Netherlands. The experience of young people across Europe shows a strong workplace-based vocational education and training system, with high employer involvement, contributes more to a smoother transition from education to work and a low rate of youth unemployment than anything else. The UK system is some way from the best in Europe.”

The report also calls for reforms to apprenticeships. The IPPR wants to see them focused on those under the age of 23. It recommends that they should last for a minimum of a year and offer level 3 training that involves off-the-job study for at least 30 per cent of their time.

Spot checks on employers should also be carried out, with those who fail to comply with the new rules being forced to pay back government funding.

The report has been welcomed by the Association of Colleges’ chief executive Martin Doel.

He said: “A major concern of colleges at the moment is the poor careers advice students receive, which often results in them taking a course that is not appropriate for them or their career ambitions.

“Many drop out of education in frustration and risk becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET).  

“Providing high quality, impartial advice and guidance is no easy task. While we appreciate schools are receiving no extra funding to support this statutory obligation, while competing in an increasingly competitive market to enrol young people, we need to see clearly defined legal duties and accountability.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.