Características específicas

As outlined earlier, the problem of youth unemployment is a global one. Although there are some commonalities between the experiences of different countries, there are also complex differences (Furlong and Cartmel, 2007); therefore the discussion which follows will focus on the particular context and recent policy responses within the UK. It is also important to recognise that policy responses have differed across the four countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Bynner, 2001).

As outlined previously, during the 1990s concepts such as ‘social exclusion’; ‘disadvantage’ and ‘risk’ increasingly came to influence Government policy and practice with regard to young people. The Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) was set up by the Labour Government (1997-2001) with the expressed aims of

addressing various aspects of social exclusion. The document ‘Bridging the

Gap’ contained proposals to reduce the large number of sixteen to eighteen

year olds not in education, employment or training, and first coined the term ‘NEET’ to describe this group (SEU, 1999).An accompanying document, Young People (SEU, 2000) produced by the SEU’s Policy Action Team 12 on

disadvantaged young people, made two important recommendations which were subsequently translated into policy: the introduction of the educational

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maintenance allowance (EMA) which gave families support to enable their young people to continue in education post-sixteen; and replacement of the statutory careers service with a national Connexions service, which had a broader remit to offer more holistic support for young people (Bynner, 2012).

In Scotland, the term ‘in need of more choices and more chances’ was

preferred, with its more positive connotations of society’s responsibility to such young people (Scottish Executive, 2006; Scottish Government, 2008).

With the change of UK government in 2010, there was a marked shift in England and Wales in the approach to young people, with arguably greater impact on those most disadvantaged. The Social Exclusion Task Force which had replaced the SEU was abolished; the EMA was replaced with a targeted 16-19 Bursary Fund for disadvantaged young people; and changes to the careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) system were implemented in 2012, with schools being made responsible for ensuring that young people have access to impartial and independent careers guidance (England and Wales. Statutes, 2012). The task of identifying and supporting those at risk of becoming NEET now falls largely on schools. The changes to CEIAG has been heavily criticised in some quarters; for example Langley, Hooley and Bertuchi (2014, p. v) suggest that ‘while there are examples of good practice, there has been a substantial overall reduction in the quality and

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Many commentators have also argued that general Government policies being pursued to reduce the budget deficit, such as lowering the ‘bill’ for welfare provision, further disadvantage young people who are NEET (Williams, 2011; Chadderton and Colley, 2012; Fergusson, 2013). It seems likely that similar policies will continue to be pursued by the 2015 Conservative Government.

Mirza-Davies (2014) outlines five main policies of the 2005-2010 Government aimed at reducing the number of young people who are NEET:

Table 2.2: Policies aimed at reducing the number of young people who are ‘NEET’. Adapted from Mirza-Davies (2014)

Name of policy Main features Raising the

Participation Age (RPA)

The policy was initiated by the Labour Government

(Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF, 2007) From 2013, young people in England are required to continue in education or training until they turn 17 and from 2015 they will be required to continue in education or training until the age of 18

The definition of ‘education’ is flexible and includes being full- time at a school, college or at home; following an

apprenticeship or part time education or training if the young person is employed, self-employed, or volunteering full time Youth contract The Youth Contract was a package of schemes aimed at

helping young people into sustained employment, launched in April 2012 and combining existing schemes with new ones. Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16-24 year olds (AGE 16-24): Payments of £1,500 are available to employers with less than 1,000 employees that take on young

apprentices.

Work experience: Placements were available for 16-24 year olds, through Jobcentre Plus who have been claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) for at least 13 weeks.

Support for 16 and 17 year olds who are NEET: Payments of £2,200 are made to providers who take on 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training and who have low or no qualifications, and those from other disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sector-based work academies: Some 18-24 old JSA claimants will be offered a mixture of training, work experience, and a job interview at a local firm through

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Jobcentre Plus.

Extra support at Jobcentre Plus: 18-24 year old JSA claimants will be offered weekly rather fortnightly signing on meetings at the Jobcentre Plus.

Funding for localised Youth Contracts: Localised Youth Contracts are available in Leeds City Region, Liverpool and Newcastle. The cities designed their own local schemes using national funding.

Work Programme Offers support to various groups of long-term unemployed people depending on their particular circumstances. Those aged 18-24 on JSA are referred to the programme after the 9- month point of their claim. Some claimants who are NEET are referred early to the Work Programme, after claiming for three months.

Apprenticeships Apprenticeships are paid jobs that incorporate on and off the job training. Successful apprentices receive a nationally recognised qualification on completion of their contract. The Government pays a proportion of the training costs for apprentices, depending on their age, with remaining training costs normally covered by the employer.

Apprenticeship Grant as outlined above

Access to Apprenticeships: People on the Access to

Apprenticeship pathway are not employed as apprentices, but work towards elements of an apprenticeship framework. To be eligible individuals aged 16-24 must have been NEET for the whole of the preceding 13 weeks prior to joining the scheme.

Mandatory Work

Activity Allows Jobcentre Plus advisors the authority to place JSA claimants on to “mandatory work activities” that will last four consecutive weeks for 30 hours per week.

The effectiveness of specific interventions aimed at reducing the NEET population is unclear. Government figures for apprenticeships state that

230,500 more people started apprenticeships in England than was the case in 2009/10 (510,200 in total) (Mirza-Davies, 2014). However, the small reduction in the NEET figures suggests that the majority of these new apprentices did not come from this group.

While the impact of RPA is yet to be established, many commentators are sceptical that this will bring about the desired improvements in access to

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employment, particularly for the most disadvantaged (Maguire, 2013). However the RPA has highlighted the importance of ensuring that all young people remain engaged with learning. The Coalition Government (2010-2015) recognised this and produced ‘Guidance on Raising the Participation Age (RPA)’ (DfE, 2013) for LAs. This contains advice about promoting effective participation in education or training of young people in a local authority, identifying those that are not participating, and making appropriate arrangements for them.