We must help young people get fit to embrace the future
Martin Bisp, chief executive, Empire Fighting Chance
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
It is clear that our most recent lockdown has to be our last, and for so many reasons let us hope that turns out to be the case. After more than a year of to-ing and fro-ing, the UK is in dire need of recovery economically, socially and emotionally. The disruption to life has been seismic for all, not least our young people, whose confidence, social engagement skills and motivational drive have been severely tested.
How then do we go about getting what is on the brink of becoming a “lost generation” of young people fighting fit again? What skills do we need to be instilling, revising and reintroducing into young people's lives so that they might turn the negatives of the Covid-19 pandemic into positive steps for their future?
Lives on hold
Research shows the experiences of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) is more negative than those who are. All of these factors have directly or indirectly affected our young people since Covid-19. Even those engaged in education during this time were denied the benefit of being immersed within any kind of academic setting for sustained periods. Part-time employment opportunities have been slim for teenagers looking to make their first foray into the world of work. Decisions around higher education and further training opportunities have been deferred or delayed by many while the full economic effects of the pandemic have yet to fully play out. Our young people's lives have been put on hold.
The confidence of young people who are Neet has plummeted too. This year's Prince's Trust Tesco Youth Index found one in four young people admitted feeling “unable to cope with life” since the pandemic, increasing to 40 per cent among Neets. Half of 16- to 25-year-olds said their mental health has worsened since Covid-19, while The Youth Index conducted by YouGov suggested more young people were feeling anxious than ever in its 12-year history.
How, then, are we to go about getting a generation fighting fit in time to embrace all the post-pandemic opportunities coming their way? How do we work to bridge the already growing divide between the engaged and Neets before it's too late? Voluntary sector work to pick up with those already feeling left behind is helping, but it's only part of the answer.
At Empire Fighting Chance we help thousands of vulnerable young people annually to consider how they manage their mental and physical health, educational and recreational commitments, and essential life skills like their finances too. We work with school pupils at risk of exclusion to find alternative learning pathways focusing on sport, personal development and key skills, and to signpost them towards apprenticeship and other entry-level employment opportunities.
But, with statutory services already under-resourced before the pandemic even arrived, a consistent multi-agency approach is the only way forward if we are to truly help the next generation thrive in the face of adversity.
Support for services
We need government-approved financial support as community organisations – not to recover from the effects of the pandemic ourselves but so we can continue to deliver services that the state has become increasingly reliant on us providing.
We need the police to continue working with groups like us to connect with society's most vulnerable young people – early intervention proving key to preventing wider issues taking effect further down the line.
We need business leaders, as they themselves begin to recover, to continue passing on those gains to young people through the ongoing introduction of grassroots-level entry and other schemes in partnership with organisations like ours.
We need schools to continue finding alternative ways to support and encourage their most vulnerable pupils to move away from age-old coping mechanisms, and for curriculums to become even more aligned with real life skills.
More than anything, the public, practically and mentally, needs to continue supporting our young people today for the sake of everyone's tomorrow. We need neighbours to check in with young people around them, we need parents and grandparents to continue helping their offspring find new opportunities for self-development and personal growth.
It is the least we can do as a nation for a generation whose pivotal years – when most people find out who they are, what their purpose is and the changes they want to see most in the world – have been put on hold.