Youth Unemployment - Tops 1Million This Week - How Do You Solve It?

Mendonca In Asdas

Figures this week show that unemployment in the 18 - 24 year old category has gone over the 1 million mark , ( i was quite shocked and embarrassed about this) with Governments (Any Government) seemingly unable to help , i thought i'd turn to the Charlton Life faithful for their much entrusted wit and wisdom , to help the government sort this mess out.

Germany's 'youth ' unemployment is a third of ours according to a report on Sky News today , with the German Economy heavily involved in apprenticeships , why have we got it so wrong?

So has anyone got any good idea's ? 

Henry Irving

Rizzo

National Service

tangoflash

Keep them in full-time education until retirement age. Sorted.

DickVanDykesDiscoDog

Tell them to swallow their pride and be a bit less fussy when applying for jobs

Rizzo

Anyone get the feeling Henry's struggling with a photo at the moment?

Strasburger

A cull 

That will get the percentages down and solve a lot of the other problems we have.

Mendonca In Asdas

National Service

I was going to entitle this 'should we bring back National Service? ' and then i thought its easy for an old fart like me to say this as it wouldn't affect me , i know it would might teach people respect and discipline , and when you see the crap that went on all over the country inthe Summer , its hard to argue against , but its only a stop gap, i guess what full time education can also be , people getting degrees in jobs that don't exist etc... and coming out broke and without a job.

Rizzo

Although National Service is something I'm in favour of it was only really tongue in cheek for this topic as I don't think it's really going to solve unemployment.

On a more serious note I really don't know how to solve the problem.

LargeAddick

bang more people up, for longer. So you need to build more prisons (creating jobs), need more prison officers (creating jobs) and if we brought back hanging that would be at least one more job.

BlackForestReds

National service is no solution - merely postpones the problem.

We don't make much any more - have a look at the clothes you wear, furnishings, electrical items etc. How much of it has a label that says "Made in Britain"? Very little I think.

We've had high unemployment since the '80s and since Thatcher's disastrous experiment with monetarism, perhaps the worst consequence (of many) is that we accepted a benefit culture and were content to blame feckless work shy youths rather than the system. The other great failure was the pissing away of North Sea oil revenues on unemployment benefit when it should have been re-invested in the nation's social infrastructure.

Valiantphil

It's a lose/lose problem for the Government.

Any scheme they introduce to get young people into work on reduced pay will have the flavour of the old YTS scheme - which many said was just slave labour. A shame really, as my brother had 2 YTS lads who both went on to future employment having learned the ropes with him, yet the idea is often criticised.

Ask the youth of today if they would accept such a job/scheme and many would decline - yet ask them to help you out on the parcel van deliveries today for 20 quid cash and you will get killed in the rush !

Odd isn't it ?

The decline in manufacturing and heavy industry looks to have made things very tough for these young people. We buy so much stuff from abroad nowadays (incl food) that jobs don't seem to exist. The population is increasing, jobs are going to migrant workers from EU, there is a black economy of counterfeit goods, and a general reluctance to take "any" job just to get some money coming in.

As Robert Zimmerman predicted:  "a hard rain's gonna fall"

Phantom_User

And the sad thing is, that's the published fures for 18-24 year olds.

There are plenty more between the ages of 16-18, who are unable to sign on, due to a clever plan to keep the actual unemployment figures down....

Although there is the choice if further education until 18, there are lots of families that can't afford to do this.

DickVanDykesDiscoDog

bang more people up, for longer. So you need to build more prisons (creating jobs), need more prison officers (creating jobs) and if we brought back hanging that would be at least one more job.

What about if we bring back corporal punishment as well - people to make the canes etc, specialist trainers required to up-skill the potential caners

wasn't sure if this was more valid to the Peter Roebuck thread .....

Bexley Dan

bang more people up, for longer. So you need to build more prisons (creating jobs), need more prison officers (creating jobs) and if we brought back hanging that would be at least one more job.

I'll go with this - i work in construction and one of our biggest clients is the Ministry of Justice. A long and sustained programme of new prison building is whats needed with a minimum percentage of the workforce being apprentices. It's a win win and will enable the authorities to dish out some proper deterrants. 

Friend Or Defoe

Lower their expectations.

Saga Lout

I don't think my younger son's expectations could be any lower.

 

The damage this causes is immesurable. 1 million young people with nothing to do, very little money and no future. I know from my own bouts of unemployment how depressing it can be.

tangoflash

Lower their expectations.

Think that's a main problem. Most seem these days to be doing courses in either I.T or media studies.  How many jobs do they think are out there?

EastStand

Lower their expectations.

Think that's a main problem. Most seem these days to be doing courses in either I.T or media studies.  How many jobs do they think are out there?

There is nothing wrong with doing courses in I.T or media, there are jobs out there for people with the right qualifications and attitude. 

I don't think the problem lies with those actually bothering to go into further education, its those who believe their 5 basic GCSE's will allow them to waltz into any job they want. Those who put in the minimum effort and expect the world handed to them on a plate and instead find themselves on the dole waiting for some kind of dream job. 

I am 24. I left education after my A levels and found myself working in a pub, mopping up sick and being threaten for £4.75 an hour. I knew there was no future in it for me. I had 2 choices. Quit and go on the dole, waiting for that dream job. Or what I did do which was to get myself back into education and work hard for the career I want. 

I think the problem is that there are far too many happy to take the first option.  

BlackForestReds

Lower their expectations.

Think that's a main problem. Most seem these days to be doing courses in either I.T or media studies.  How many jobs do they think are out there?

Any stats to back that up?

While I'm not sure what media studies graduates offer the workplace in a world being increasingly driven by technology we need IT graduates. India has more students graduating with IT qualifications every year than Britain has students in further education. That's where the future lies.

 

Leroy Ambrose

Lower their expectations.

Think that's a main problem. Most seem these days to be doing courses in either I.T or media studies.  How many jobs do they think are out there?

Any stats to back that up?

While I'm not sure what media studies graduates offer the workplace in a world being increasingly driven by technology we need IT graduates. India has more students graduating with IT qualifications every year than Britain has students in further education. That's where the future lies.

 

You need to be more specific. What we need isn't more 'IT graduates'. Entry-level IT jobs are outrageously over-subscribed - basic helpdesk jobs attract about 500 applicants for each one advertised. Even at the server/network end of the scale there are hundreds of people competing for everyu job (not counting the hundreds of Indian 'IT graduates'). It's better the further up the ladder you go - having been in IT for donkey's years I'm pretty confident that I'll not really struggle for work if I get laid off, even though I'd probably have to take a cut in salary.

The real problem is that most 'IT graduates' don't know the first thing about doing the job. Everything they've learned is either from a book that is so old it was written when dinosaurs walked the Earth (or at least when Windows 2000 was in vogue, which, in IT, is about the same time period) or parrot fashion via braindumps so they can pass Microsoft exams. This makes them totally useless in the real world. On top of that, advances in technology and the vogue for offshoring everything in sight has meant a massive cut in the physical number of desktop/server/network support.

What we need is more software developers and systems engineers. unfortunately, they're both bloody hard work and hardly anybody going into University wants to do them.

ColinTat

I hope Bexley you're joking.  There's many more infrastructure investment which will have a far larger positive effect on the economy than prisons.

Germany has been booming since the crashes of 2008, so we can't really compare.  Like with any recession it's infrastructure projects that will help to employ people.  Hopefully the trick is to re-introduce manufacturing bases from these investments, whereby an export industry can emerge.  But in reality, I doubt we'll emerge from national debt in my life time, so it'll be only after the next big collapse we'll get anywhere near policy change.

Jints

I've been around a couple of secondary schools recently and asked the head of IT/ICT what they teach. It's powerpoint and photoshop and stuff that;s useful in other jobs but not in IT. None of them taught coding and were surprised I even asked.

LonelyNorthernAddick

Tell them to swallow their pride and be a bit less fussy when applying for jobs

Really annoys me when people say this, I'd been applying for jobs left right and centre for about a year, almost every job i handed a cv in for they'd say something along the lines of "Oh another one, we've already got about 30 handed in". There's an obscene amount of people for every one vacancy. And I was applying everywhere I could find a vacancy, and where there wasn't one.

bang more people up, for longer. So you need to build more prisons (creating jobs), need more prison officers (creating jobs) and if we brought back hanging that would be at least one more job.

And where are you finding the money for this? I'm not saying its a bad idea, but we have, as a country, no money, and this gov don't want to spend money on anything anywhere to force some growth into the economy. With a gov obsessed with cutting everything everywhere I would be highly surprised if they suddenly decide to start throwing money into the economy in such a  way. Mind you with the amount of U-turns this gov.s already pulled I suppose It'll probably happen tomorrow.

Addickted4life

I might have this problem in a couple of years when I finish education. Really hope the unemployment rate goes down.

BlackForestReds

I might have this problem in a couple of years when I finish education. Really hope the unemployment rate goes down.

You will, it won't magically improve in the next couple of years. Get some work experience in whatever post-education career you choose and bolster your CV. Foewarned is forearmed...

UrbanChupacabra

There are too many people drawing a pension and working at the same time. Taking jobs away from youngsters.

Bexley Dan

I hope Bexley you're joking.  There's many more infrastructure investment which will have a far larger positive effect on the economy than prisons.

Germany has been booming since the crashes of 2008, so we can't really compare.  Like with any recession it's infrastructure projects that will help to employ people.  Hopefully the trick is to re-introduce manufacturing bases from these investments, whereby an export industry can emerge.  But in reality, I doubt we'll emerge from national debt in my life time, so it'll be only after the next big collapse we'll get anywhere near policy change.

Only partly joking. I agree about the manufacturing bases and its the lack of fodder type jobs in particular that has lead to such massive job shortfalls for those who achieve less at school. They were the safety net years ago for the lazy or less capable. These jobs don't exist any more but whether we can compete with the likes of China to make manufacturing sustainable again, i don't know. I really do feel we've gone too far down the road with rehabilitation and short sentences. Those involved in the riots didn't fear a long spell in prison and neither do the wasters and young criminals who also draw benefits. Force them to take the apprenticeships in the prison builds and if they don't, then start sticking them in them. Admittedly it costs money to house a prisoner but it also costs money in benefits, policing bills etc etc and those who do tow the line will hopefully have an apprenticeship behind them and will be employable. 

Henry Irving

Government already planning a £50b spend on infrastructure projects.  All very Keynesian and demand side for a tory government but what is the alternative?

But firms winning government contracts should be forced to provide apprenticeships for trades, QS, engineers, etc or loose the contract.

Incentivise young people by subsidizing uni or other courses where there are skills shortages.  So you can do media studies for £9k per year but the right types of IT or bricklaying for free.

Trouble is that is all medium to long term and won't solve the problem now even if the figures out today were from the summer which are normally higher anyway.

BlackForestReds

Those involved in the riots didn't fear a long spell in prison and neither do the wasters and young criminals who also draw benefits. Force them to take the apprenticeships in the prison builds ...

...........

And yet when a train manufacturing contract was up for grabs the government awarded it to Siemens in Germany:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwvUpdTqoI

The biggest welfare queen in this country is Fred Goodwin - fact.

shirty5

Read the Charlton Life work thread on a daily basis and don't be too fussy.