Open letter calls for comprehensive youth employment support

BASE is one of 80 signatories to a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to drive forward a coordinated cross-departmental approach to tackling short-term and long-term youth unemployment to ensure that there will be no ‘lost generation'.

The 80 organisations have come together through the Youth Employment Group to warn that despite government efforts for youngsters to get the help that they need to get into work through investment in employment support, education, training and jobs, the challenge for young people is far from over.

We know that young people have been hit especially hard by the impacts of the pandemic which is why our Plan for Jobs specifically focuses on offering them choices. We’ve already helped 50,000 young people to find good jobs through the £2billion Kickstart scheme, while also investing in increasing the number of apprenticeships, traineeships and work coaches to support those who will benefit from different opportunities. The latest employment figures show we’re on the right track and pushing for recovery – with a sustained rise in the number of young people on payrolls – and this support will continue as we look to build back better and create, protect and sustain jobs.

The letter calls for action to:

1. Ensure that all young people, whether leaving school, college, or university this summer, have the opportunity of an education place, apprenticeship or job
2. Invest in young people in this Spending Review to prevent long-term unemployment among young people, as we’ve seen in the years after previous downturns
3. Drive forward a coordinated cross-departmental approach to tackling short-term and long-term youth unemployment to ensure that there will be no ‘lost generation’