Youth employability is reliant on a jobs market

Serious initiatives to tackle this always take at least a few years. The experiences of Cornwall, the North East and the West Midlands are that reshaping employment requires long-term commitment.

So there will be young people who left school or college last year who will be unemployed for several years. Some will find more-or-less menial work, often short term or part time, or well within their abilities. I met a young man at a supermarket checkout the other day.

He was personable, affable and helpful, but he didn’t need A levels to pass shopping over a barcode reader, and the thought of this wasted talent is distressing. And there are thousands who don’t have his ability simply to get on with people and who can’t find any meaningful work at all.

Interestingly, the most able and motivated are starting to respond to tuition fees and the economic situation – FE colleges are seeing a rise in Level 3 vocational courses and apprenticeships that can lead directly to employment at 18, rather than higher education.

Research findings are unequivocal. The better educated you are, and the better people skills you have, the more likely you are to find meaningful employment.

There are, of course, fewer low-level jobs than before, and that’s why continuing into further education is ever more important. The coalition’s commitment to the previous government’s approach to raising the age of participation was important. But education by itself can’t solve deep-rooted economic problems.

We need to work on developing genuine and sustainable employment in all our regions. Employability is all very well, but there have to be jobs to do. Let’s hope the £1bn "youth contract" employer subsidy scheme makes a genuine impact.

John Freeman CBE is a former director of children’s services and is now a freelance consultant. Read his blog at cypnow.co.uk/freemansthinking