Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.
This week we welcome the newest to join the Discuss HR crew, Susan Popoola. Her opening salvo for us is incredibly relevant in light of yesterday’s news that there are now over 1 million under 24s unemployed. Susan discusses whether this is a lost generation. (Ed Scrivener)
A Lost Generation?
...I Say a Resounding “No”
I’ve always had a keen interest in young people – their potential and what each and every one of them has to offer. It’s why I was a youth worker for a number of years. It’s why I’m currently a School Governor who is additionally involved in Business Education partnerships, Young Enterprise amongst other things. It’s possibly with this awareness that a number of people contacted me following on from the August “Youth” riots asking me what I believe is to be done. It’s why like almost everyone else I’m highly concerned about the high levels of youth unemployment – currently estimated at 1.02 million amongst 16 to 24 year olds. It’s ultimately why I believe that there is a need for the development of strategies to engage young people both within business and the wider community. I further believe that the HR Community has a pivotal role to play in this.
With the current state of play, there is constant talk of young people as a lost generation, whilst I refuse to accept this as a destiny for a generation of young people, I am not naïve enough to ignore the risk.
Beyond what we can currently see with youth unemployment and low engagement levels with some groups, there are certain changes taking place or on the horizon that come with the risk of worsening the situation.
Specifically to mention a few policy and services changes impacting on young people, there is the:
· Closure of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) replaced with the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
· Increase to University Fees with changes in repayment arrangements
· The closure of the Future Jobs Fund which provided work for youths for at least six months
· Potential abolition of the Youth Justice Board
· A reduction in Youth Work support
· A reduction in Legal Aid
· Development of the Big Society (however coupled by reduced funding support for volunteering)
· Removal of the ring-fence around the Youth Opportunity Fund which gave young people powers to decide how to improve their area
· Halving of the Youth Capital Fund which paid for such work
· Cuts to Connexions services from Schools
Some of the concerns raised by these changes together with the current situation that we can already see are:
· The potential loss by a generation of young people of valuable chances to improve their lives and a risk of crushed social mobility
· Deterring poorer students from continuing in education
· A risk that cutbacks to youth work and facilities could lead to increased crime and antisocial behaviour
· The cumulative future impact could be a nation without a skilled and engaged workforce
Whilst Government, the young people themselves and their parents have clear responsibilities, I believe as this impacts on wider society/economy and especially the workplace, we as an HR community have a responsibility to the organisations that we represent to do everything that we can to avoid a lost generation.
As HR professionals we therefore need to lead in engaging young people within schools, the workplace and the wider community.
About the author
Susan has established a successful career as an HR Consultant, specialising in HR Transformation and Talent Management across the Private, Public & Voluntary sectors.
Susan serves as a Partnership Governor for The Hazeley School where she chairs the Innovation and Partnership Committee. She also serves as a Young Enterprise judge and a Business Ambassador for Countec Education Business Partnership. She is also the published author of Touching the Heart of Milton Keynes: A Social Perspective and the soon to be published book: Consequences: Diverse to Mosaic Britain.
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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK. Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 24th November and will be written by Training Consultant Jill Hart-Sanderson.
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