Participation Works

A new report has found that young people are worried that the recession will damage their future job prospects for the longer term.

The Youth Commission report, published by the Edge Learner Forum, has found that 64 percent of young people believe that the recession will have a long term effect on their employability.

Other key findings include that 58 percent believe that key changes are needed to the education system to improve their employability. The research found that young people believe that employment skills, careers advice and work experience should form part of their education in order to improve employability. The survey found that 48 per cent of young people don’t feel that they have had enough work experience to inform their career choice. 65 per cent of young people taking part in the research also believe that their background will have a major impact on their career opportunities.

The research also found that school children are more likely to think school has prepared them to get a job with 85 percent having faith that the education system has prepared them for employment compared to those who are slightly older with more experience of trying to find employment with only 53 percent of young people over 17 years old.

Speaking about the report, Rose Dowling, Director of the Edge Learner Forum who conducted the research, said:

“We are at a critical stage where, if the employment situation for young people continues, it will be a danger to them and to society. We can’t let this happen and need to make sure that this and future generations are prepared for employment and have the many paths to success they deserve. Practical and vocational learning in schools is paramount to this as is gaining real work experience – which is widely recognised by the young people who took part in this report”.

Recommendations made in the report include to ensure that careers advice works for everyone, especially those who are unsure about the future, that better work experience should be delivered with many more opportunities provided for everyone to take it, much more prominence should be given to employability earlier in education and that young people and employers should be brought together on a regular basis so they know what to expect from each other.

The report is supported by the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee and the research was carried out with teen community, Habbo Hotel. The Youth Commission was established by the Edge Learner Forum with support from the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee and acts as a mechanism through which young people can air their views about the education system and work together to bring about the changes they would like to see made.  

Thu, 18/02/2010 - 15:52