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Work experience is the biggest barrier for young people starting a career

An inability to access work experience represents the single biggest barrier to finding a job for young people, according to research from Speakers for Schools.

A YouGov survey commissioned by the charity sought views from more than 2,000 young people, aged 11 to 19 across the UK, asking about their attitudes towards education and employment in a post-COVID-19 environment. The inability to access relevant work experience is revealed as the single biggest barrier to finding a job, with 39% of respondents ranking it as their top concern.

It also highlights the sheer demand amongst young people to gain experience working with employers, with almost half (47%) ranking work experience and internships as the most valued tool for boosting confidence ahead of starting their career.

Separate YouGov surveys of 100 business leaders and 100 MPs were conducted in parallel to the young person survey, revealing a significant disconnect between the priorities of young people and the views of businesses and politicians.

Over 7 in 10 young people (73%) think politicians have a poor understanding of their needs and aspirations, and over half (52%) think the same of businesses. Yet a staggering 87% of MPs believe they understand them well.

Whereas business leaders share a similar view to young people, ranking work experience as the most important tool for help recover from the impact of COVID-19. Over a third of respondents (37%) rate it more highly than other measures such as summer schools (36%), a longer school day (35%) and personal tutoring (34%). Whereas the majority of MPs believe personal tutoring (65%) is the most effective way to support young people post-COVID-19.

Rachael Saunders, education and policy director at Speakers for Schools, comments: “This research highlights a yearn amongst young people for more work experience and a collective recognition of the impact it has on their ability to succeed as they transition out of school and into further education or the world of work. Particularly now as we emerge from a pandemic that has been economically and socially devasting for the younger generation.

“Although business leaders share a similar view, there is clearly a disconnect between the views of politicians and young people. It is time work experience is awarded the same level of recognition by the government. It becomes a central part of its approach to helping young people recover and ensuring it doesn’t impact their future prospects. We stand ready to support the government in delivering these aims.”

Josh Evans (17), an A-levels student from Darlington, comments: “To truly help young people recover from this time, we need more than a summer school or personal tutoring. We need lots of support that isn’t just academic. For instance, ongoing work experience opportunities, CV training and mental health guidance are equally as important to helping young people leave school or university feeling prepared to find a job.”

Gill Walsh, Liverpool City Region Careers Hub Lead at Growth Platform said: “The Liverpool City Region Careers Hub adapted quickly to the limited employer encounters brought about by the pandemic. Not only have we partnered with Speakers for Schools; we also developed an interactive live and pre-recorded employer engagement programme entitled Creating Careers.

“This programme has showcased the amazing and wide-ranging opportunities we have in our City Region from specific job roles through to our industry sector strengths. This has been a great success and we are now developing more exciting programmes to inspire and encourage our young people along their careers journey.”

Speakers for Schools is now calling upon businesses to consider offering more work experience opportunities to young people in a bid to improve their employability and help them recover post-pandemic while building essential talent pipelines to support long-term business growth.

Meanwhile, the charity also asks the government to reconsider its catch-up plans to ensure careers programmes are incorporated, with work experience a serious consideration. Currently, schools are working to Gatsby Benchmarks, which state that by the age of 16, every student should have had at least one workplace experience, additional to any part-time jobs they may have. Speakers for Schools argues this should be the absolute minimum, with every young person given multiple opportunities to ensure they’re experiencing a range of sectors and jobs.

The findings were published after the charity launched a dedicated careers app, Youth Card, packed with over 20,000 work experience opportunities, careers guidance, inspirational talks from sector leaders, along with a range of discounts from BPbp and the Bank of England are just a handful of the leading employers already signed up to offer work experience through the app.

Speakers for Schools is partnered with Youth Enterprise, UK Youth and the European Youth Card Association to launch Youth Card in the UK. It is free to download and available to young people in the UK aged 11 to 25.

Businesses can partner with Speakers for Schools to offer work experience through the app.

To find out more, visit: www.speakersforschools.org/about/youth card

Further information on the activity of the Liverpool City Region Careers Hub can be found at:

www.growthplatform.org

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2021-09-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://educate.pressreader.com/article/282982518093791

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