The Government is set to unveil new plans to counter what it has described as the “quiet crisis” of youth unemployment.
Alan Milburn, the Government’s jobs adviser, is set to publish a review looking at the reasons why 946,000 young people aged 16 to 24 aren’t in education, employment or training (Neets).
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has warned that the impact of youth unemployment could scar young people for the rest of their lives and is set to announce plans for 300,000 extra work experience placements over the next three years, it is reported.
We take a look at what the proposals will mean – and how another European country is tackling the issue of youth unemployment.
What does Milburn’s report address?
Milburn told The i Paper he believes young people who want to work are being let down by a welfare system which is not built to support them.
The former Labour health secretary’s review will blame a “catastrophic system failure” for young people remaining on health and disability benefits, according to The Times.
Under the current system, £1 is spent on employment support for young people for every £25 spent on benefits.
Milburn’s review found young people who receive personal independence payments (PIP) are less likely to work as they get older, with only a quarter of 24-year-old PIP recipients in work.
And under half of all benefits spending, including PIP and universal credit, required recipients to look for work or support to find employment.
What does Milburn say about the problem?
His interim report will say that a “rising tide of mental ill-health, anxiety, depression, neurodiversity” is the main cause of high economic inactivity, according to The Times.
It is set to warn that young people on benefits who want to return to work may be deterred from doing so as they could lose up to £2,000 a month.
“There is almost no intermediate step – no gradual build-up, no trial period that genuinely removes the fear of losing everything if a job does not work out,” the report states.
“The welfare system presents young people with a perverse choice. For a young person with a health condition, the pathway to inactivity can offer higher income, less hassle and lower risk than trying to find work.”
How does the UK compare to Europe?
Austria has consistently had some of the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe, and their policies have served as a blueprint for a broader EU scheme on the issue.
Currently, Austria’s youth unemployment rate sits at around 11 per cent, with only the Czech Republic (10 per cent), the Netherlands (9 per cent) and Germany (7 per cent) lower among other EU nations.
Their rates compare to youth unemployment of just over 16 per cent in the UK.
Austria has been focusing on young people in its employment policy for years, building on its Youth Guarantee introduced in 2014.
Under the Austrian Youth Guarantee, every young person up to the age of 18 can access an apprenticeship after registering with the Public Employment Service (AMS).
If young people under 18 can’t find a regular apprenticeship in the private sector, the state will provide training and education so they are not left behind.
The guarantee acts an early-intervention system, preventing youth from languishing on benefits.
Strategies have also been developed to ease the transition from school to work and cut dropouts from school.
Young jobseekers up to the age of 25 are also guaranteed an apprenticeship position, tailored employment or training within three months of registering with the AMS.
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