Youth unemployment predicted to fall as employers' attitudes shift

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/23/youth-unemployment-fall-attitude-work-experience

Version 0 of 1.

Employers in the UK are taking on more work experience students, expanding their graduate schemes and looking to hire more apprentices, according to new research that predicts youth unemployment will fall over coming months.

The jobless rate among 16- to 24-year-olds is still several times the UK's overall unemployment rate but there are signs employers' attitudes towards young employees are starting to shift, says a report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The trade group for the human resources sector, points out that the recent fall in youth unemployment is not so much down to a significant pick up in young people getting jobs than a decreasing population of 18-24 year olds, more of whom are choosing to stay in full-time education. But the CIPD is optimistic that employers who used words like "lazy" and "clueless" about young people when it first launched research into the area two years ago have changed their tune.

Its latest report suggests four in 10 employers now offer work experience and over a third have increased their provision in the last year. It also found more employers were providing mentoring to young jobseekers, a greater proportion were working with local schools and a growing number were providing apprenticeships.

Katerina Rudiger, head of skills and policy campaigns at CIPD, welcomed signs that employers had moved on from blaming schools for failing to prepare young people for work.

"Today, we are pleased to see that the public debate focuses very much on the difficult education-to-work transition young people face when they first enter the labour market and it's great to see so many employers stepping up their efforts to engage with young people, realising that they cannot sit back and expect to be passive consumers of the education system," she said.

The group is calling on employers to do more still to help young people make the transition into work but wants action from the government too, particularly on providing higher quality careers guidance and more high-quality apprenticeships.

A separate report today also paints a picture of rising employment but warns that the recent "jobs boom" is a risk from growing skills shortages.

Employers are twice as confident about the economy as they were this time last year and many intend to take on more staff in coming months, according to the latest survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). But companies are increasingly worried about getting the skilled workers they need, according to a poll of 600 employers.

A third of employers predict a shortage of engineers to fill permanent and temporary technical and engineering jobs. Skills needs were also a key factor in businesses taking on temporary agency staff. Almost two thirds of employers across all sectors said they used agency workers because temporary staff provide 'short term access to key strategic skills', a more popular answer than 'covering leave', 'responding to growth' or 'keeping running costs down'.

"Employers are going to have to work harder to attract candidates as the labour market booms and competition for talent hots up. Skilled individuals are scarce in technology, engineering, construction and HGV driving, and companies are already increasing pay to encourage people to jump ship and join their workforce," said REC chief executive Kevin Green.