Subject: | Unemployment and work |
Topic: | Young workers |
Year: | 2014 |
A new book examined media, policy, and political discourses around the graduate labour market in Britain, arguing that the assumptions made by many policymakers and media outlets regarding graduate work, skills, and occupations were no longer valid within the changing educational and labour market contexts.
Source: Gerbrand Tholen, The Changing Nature of the Graduate Labour Market: Media, policy and political discourses in the UK, Palgrave Pivot
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Sep
An audit report in Wales said that the Welsh Government was well placed to help to reduce the numbers of 16-18 year olds who were not in education, employment, or training (NEET), but was less well placed to reduce the number of 19-24 year olds who were NEET and to determine value for money. It said that councils were also clearly committed to reducing the proportion of young people NEET, especially those aged 16-18, but their planning was variable and councils had made less progress in understanding the costs of services and in evaluating the effectiveness of their interventions. The report made recommendations.
Source: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training, Wales Audit Office
Links: Report | WAO press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A report said that recent emphasis on the provision of apprenticeships had been aimed at regrading existing workers, rather than recruiting and upskilling young people. It said that many opportunities had been low-skilled and 'dead end', benefitting private training agencies rather than new young workers. The report considered the future of apprenticeships, contrasting the United Kingdom system with the German 'dual system' and arguing that, while traditional conceptions of vocational education needed to be rethought, robust alternative economic policies were also necessary.
Source: Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley, A Great Training Robbery or a Real Alternative for Young People? Apprenticeships at the start of the 21st century, Radicaled
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined the European Union youth strategy, applying a 'southern theory perspective' to examine reasons for a lack of impact on levels of youth unemployment, underemployment, and child and youth poverty.
Source: Judith Bessant and Rob William Watts, '"Cruel optimism": a southern theory perspective on the European Union's Youth Strategy, 2008 2012', International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, Volume 19 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
A report by a committee of peers said that youth unemployment was one of the most urgent problems facing Europe, having been exacerbated by the economic crisis. It said that responsibility for action rested primarily with member states, but the European Union could add value by encouraging the exchange of good practice between member states, by supporting them to co-ordinate their responses, and by kick-starting structural changes. It also discussed the performance of the Youth Guarantee and Youth Contract. The report called for a range of measures, including: a combination of support for immediate action and for action to address longer term structural and systemic issues in the European labour market; for changes to the existing system of managing EU funding in England, with Local Enterprise Partnerships and their partner local authorities given sufficient control of funds in order to identify, plan, manage, and deliver local schemes; and for meaningful consultation of young people in the development and implementation of programmes.
Source: Youth Unemployment in the EU: A scarred generation?, 12th Report (Session 201314), HL 164, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release
Date: 2014-Apr