Long Term Youth Unemployment Needs Addressing, Says Perspective

New data from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found that the number of young people out of work for at least a year has increased by 800 per cent in the last decade, a shocking statistic that needs to be addressed, according to individual learning plan provider Perspective.

The report, which compared data over the last ten years, revealed that the number of 18 to 24 year-olds out of work for a year or more has risen eightfold from 6,260 in 2000 to 60,995 in 2012. The last 12 months have seen the biggest increase with joblessness rising by 264 per cent.

Paul Davis, managing director of student management system provider Perspective, commented: “Youth employment is a huge problem in this country that needs to be tackled. Young people lack the skills and experience of their older peers and therefore can find it more difficult to secure a job. Taking this into account along with the decline in entry-level jobs in sectors such as production, due to manufacturing moving overseas, there is a real need to help the next generation of workers get long term employment.

“Vocational training is one way of decreasing youth unemployment and the government has introduced the Youth Contract, a subsidy of £2,275 for employers who take on and train young people, to do just that. I am hoping over the next year more businesses will see apprenticeships as a more attractive offering, and a way to train staff with the right skills.

Perspective is a leading provider of student tracking software, with its student management system, Sunesis, being implemented by numerous local authorities and businesses around the UK and subsequently being responsible for monitoring millions of learners. For more information, please visit www.perspective-uk.com or call 0121 506 9540.