A statistic, a reminder

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The final Discuss HR of the week is by my fellow Gloucestershire resident and experienced HR Consultant John Hepworth, who has written some of our most read posts ever!  I think this one could be up there with them... (Ed Scrivener)

A statistic, a reminder

Recent media reports have highlighted that unemployment amongst ‘young people’ in Spain now stands at 55%. I assume that the demographic relates to those just leaving education or higher education. This means, then, that a larger proportion of 18-24 year olds will have their first taste of the so-called ‘adult world’ as a statistic – no job, no prospects.

Back to the U.K. The latest unemployment figures showed a decline: welcomed and also cynically challenged by a few [“Look at the number of people who want to work more hours, but cannot – that has increased!”]. Yet, here again, there has been a slight increase in youth unemployment – the wonderful acronym NEATs [that is, I think this is correct – I am away from Internet access currently so cannot check. The leads to another blog at some stage, featuring a recent ‘South Park’ storyline, but more of that at a later date...].

Look back to the 1980s. Thatcher’s Britain and UB40 – both in terms of the unemployment form and the reggae-influenced band singing about being “A one in 10...a number on a list...as though I don’t exist”. Is it any wonder that the band UB40 named their first album ‘Signing off’, as their musical success had allowed them to stop claiming ‘the dole’?

And finally, returning to the news reports, the last known miner from the ‘Jarrow Crusade’ has passed away. Part of the Great Depression of the 1930s in the U.K. the Crusade was a visible demonstration of how poverty, lack of work prospects and yet, a dogged determination to succeed and prosper without ‘handouts’, could shape and influence policy and Government attitudes. And above all, the visible demonstration – literally and descriptively – showed the World that there were people at all levels of society ready to say ‘no’ to poverty and take action to change the script.

I am acutely aware that business in the U.K. is tough for most at the moment. Cost of living is relatively static and the key reason that employment has fallen is that pay has been stagnant: people are cheaper to employ, yet that in turn means less money being spent to encourage buying of goods and services for example. We all know the script here. Surely, though, our society has allowed itself to make the same mistakes as the past, especially when it comes to youth unemployment?

Consider this. In the 1980s, it was common for generations of families to be unemployed. This led to a lifestyle that was benefit-dependent, compounded by the complete failure of Government to provide alternative work, or more to the point perhaps, the means to acquire alternative work. Think of Norman Tebbitt and his ‘on yer bike’ quote to get work? I personally agree with the sentiment, but how exactly did Norman or successive Government improve our transport infra-structure in order to help people – optimised by the Jarrow marchers perhaps – get to the work they desired? Remember as well the simply pathetic efforts of Government since the mid-1980s to provide employers and employees / potential employees with access to understandable, focused and competently delivered training and funding. Which new initiative is it this week?!

Time to change the script. To start, private sector employers need to think about investment and training in their society as well as in their profits. As HR practioners, let’s help the CEOs provide 3-6 month paid internments that provide skills, so that recipients can at least point to some ‘relevant experience’ on their CVs. Second – let’s help line managers by recruiting for attitude as much as skills and ensure that we keep our short-listing criteria up-beat and positive, and not lazy by pointing to qualifications and experience as a guillotine. Thirdly, connect with education and ensure that if Twitter is the lifeblood of a certain age group, we encourage our companies to use it and benefit from it. Get savvy with the IT and trash the Social Media Policy and Procedure! Next, value customer service above all else – and recognise that this includes ensuring that bar work and cafe work is probably far more useful than nothing at all. We all remember the last bad meal out we had – and that was usually down to the service – so celebrate good service as consumers at the time that you see it.

And finally, remember that research shows definitively that unemployment in early adulthood significantly alters how those affected relate to society in later life – and it is in the negative. So, the next time you hear someone say of a young graduate or GCSE student that they are ‘over-qualified’ or ‘lack experience’, remember the Spanish youth of today. And do your bit to change the script.

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Discuss HR is the HR blog written by members of Human Resources UK, the 10,000 member strong LinkedIn group dedicated to the HR professionals in the UK.  Discuss HR is published twice weekly and looks to take an insightful, informative and sometimes irreverent view on the world of HR – all with the purpose of generating a discussion.

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