The UK is experiencing worsening NEET rates, with the percentage of young people not in education, employment or training growing in the last three years.
The latest ONS figures show NEET rates are now at 872,000, over a quarter of a million more than three years ago.
Jackie Partridge, the Project Manager for Inspire’s Post 16 services, said: “Everyone keeps saying we shouldn’t be blaming Covid, but it is a reaction from it. All those young people who were indoors for two years are then having to start again.
“There’s been a lot of mental health issues since Covid – social interactions are different now.”
She added that the UK job market could be better to help young people get into work.
A recent study of jobseekers from StandOutCV found that for one low-skilled position, over 500 people are applying for each role. It added that 98% of large companies use automated systems to review CVs, with only 1 in 4 actually reaching a human.
“Apprenticeships are few and far between. Young people assume they can do an apprenticeship, but getting one is really, really difficult. You’re going up against a lot of young people, especially in certain industries,” Jackie added.
“There are some sectors that don’t have Apprenticeships. Young people are the future workforce and businesses could be doing to encourage people to work in their sector. There needs to be more apprenticeships.”
Inspire’s Youth Development Tutor Jenni Colvin said: “I think Covid has been brushed under the carpet.
“Young people have missed so much of their education; years have been disrupted in their education. Confidence is at rock bottom, so they need a little bit of a push and support in how to find jobs.
“In Lowestoft we are such a deprived area, jobs are so few and far between. You go for one job and are up against a thousand others. Sometimes they just need a little bit of support and understanding. I didn’t know what I needed to do when I was 18.
“They don’t realise how many opportunities are out there for them.”
At Inspire, we have a number of programmes to help NEET young people and get them into work, training or education including the Youth Employment Service (YES).
“Our model incorporates well-being, holistic working – we’re not going back to meeting in a classroom,” Jackie continued. “We’ll meet you where you feel comfortable. It’s there to support how and when they need it. The YES service has 1-to-1 support.
“They can meet someone and start afresh, there’s no real timeline as to what the pathway is so we can support you on any direction.”
We also have Thrive, the Personal Development Service, where support is offered in the form of one-to-one coaching over a 10-week period.
Thrive helps direct young people find out what they need to be able to confidently make their next move. For more information about Thrive, read here.
To find out how YES can help, read our case studies here.
