Number of young people not in work or education hits 11-year high

[Mr Bump]

I find this very worrying , our future workforce,

More young people were not in work, education or training at the end of 2024 than at any point in the past 11 years, new data suggests.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest 987,000 16-24-year-olds were not in work, education or training between October and December.

That is 13.4%, or almost one out of every seven people in that age range.

Number of young people not in work or education hits 11-year high

The latest figure of 987,000 16-24-year-olds not in work, education or training has risen by 110,000 in a year.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[lindsay]

Sadly I think a good proportion of these youngsters make their living as low-level drug dealers, going by stuff I heard a few years ago - a former office worker I knew who gave up his job and company car to deal cocaine because he felt the risk of being caught was very low; and I saw with my own eyes a lot of this where I used to live. And of course the ones making money on social media without declaring any of it.

 

[munch]

I find this very worrying , our future workforce,

More young people were not in work, education or training at the end of 2024 than at any point in the past 11 years, new data suggests.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest 987,000 16-24-year-olds were not in work, education or training between October and December.

That is 13.4%, or almost one out of every seven people in that age range.

Number of young people not in work or education hits 11-year high

The latest figure of 987,000 16-24-year-olds not in work, education or training has risen by 110,000 in a year.

www.bbc.co.uk

I wonder how much of this is down to all the changes that are (going to be) happening to businesses at the moment regarding NI etc. If I was running a business at the moment I would be very reluctant to take on anybody at the moment.

 

[Oldbones]

I wonder if the min wage these youngsters get would cover, traveling expenses to any job.
We have three apprentices, their pay is very poor.
Get a car, the insurance is crazy for them.
Ah better stay at home, working will make them more poor than they are now.
Stop using them as cheap labor, pay them properly and many of them would get on with it.

 

[Mr Bump]

I wonder if the min wage these youngsters get would cover, traveling expenses to any job.
We have three apprentices, their pay is very poor.
Get a car, the insurance is crazy for them.
Ah better stay at home, working will make them more poor than they are now.
Stop using them as cheap labor, pay them properly and many of them would get on with it.

the thing that worries me more is that they are not in education rather than work
all the young people i know have done well by extended education for starters
we just seem to becoming a nation of school dropouts

 

[cambsno]

I find this very worrying , our future workforce,

More young people were not in work, education or training at the end of 2024 than at any point in the past 11 years, new data suggests.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest 987,000 16-24-year-olds were not in work, education or training between October and December.

That is 13.4%, or almost one out of every seven people in that age range.

Number of young people not in work or education hits 11-year high

The latest figure of 987,000 16-24-year-olds not in work, education or training has risen by 110,000 in a year.

www.bbc.co.uk

Combination of reasons - parents don't work and live off the state (maybe using crime or side hustles to top up) would be an obvious on, many people have perfected living a reasonable life off the state. People not wanting to start at bottom and work up, they want to walk straight into a good job. Their attitude is often poor. £10 an hour may not seem a lot but if living at home is probably a decent amount. If you can claim a disability and don't work thats £750 a month - around 700 less than a 37.5hr week job at 10 per hour. If you can do a bit of cash in hand work, or are being looked after at home, why work?

Also too much focus on education, people doing silly degrees which do not help them in later life and they think having a degree in something means they should have a better job

 

[munch]

Also too much focus on education, people doing silly degrees which do not help them in later life and they think having a degree in something means they should have a better job

But going to university to get a better job is something that the Government of the time (Tony Blair) wanted to happen. Twenty years on, we are beginning to realise that a degree is not the only way to get on in life. But has already been said apprenticeships are hard to come buy and the pay has not really risen to reflect modern living.

 

[Mr Bump]

For me its why are we not enabling/helping our youngest people stay in education

At the end of 2023, 16.4% of 16-18 year olds were not in any education or training, slightly lower than last year. Age 16-17: 7.6% were NET, a fairly consistent rate since 2019. Age 18: 33.8% were NET, a slight increase in the latest year

 

[cambsno]

For me its why are we not enabling/helping our youngest people stay in education

At the end of 2023, 16.4% of 16-18 year olds were not in any education or training, slightly lower than last year. Age 16-17: 7.6% were NET, a fairly consistent rate since 2019. Age 18: 33.8% were NET, a slight increase in the latest year

Mate of mine is a teacher for mechanics in a college. Half the pupils in his class don't really want to be there - they are there because that have to be or because the parents want them there to keep benefits. This is a waste of time, resource and money but ticks a box!

 

[cambsno]

But going to university to get a better job is something that the Government of the time (Tony Blair) wanted to happen. Twenty years on, we are beginning to realise that a degree is not the only way to get on in life. But has already been said apprenticeships are hard to come buy and the pay has not really risen to reflect modern living.

Also, people seem to want to do interesting jobs. Think about what most people do... work in offices in hr, finance, marketing, admin etc... or shops and retail. Not many kids say they want to do that.

 

[lindsay]

They want to be famous and rich. They don't seem to understand how to achieve that except by being a footballer or influencer, not realising that both require a lot of actual effort if they are to pay well.

 

[Craig1912]

It’s fair to say that many (most) kids don’t know what they want to do. My youngest went to Uni and came out with a decent degree and Masters. He looked at all sorts and has ended up in Accountancy and doing well. My eldest has had a decent career in football but has had enough and through an employer sponsorship scheme has ended up working for a major financial institution (apart from GCSEs has never had any further education). Anything is possible but lots of kids have poor role models at home. When mum and dad are sat at home watching Sky on a big tv and raking in benefits what incentive has the kid to do anything else?

 

[mj4456]

Tories up here suggesting kids could leave school at 14! Not all 16+ school leavers can get jobs now, why add to that figure.

 

[cambsno]

Tories up here suggesting kids could leave school at 14! Not all 16+ school leavers can get jobs now, why add to that figure.

They would be in apprentiships or more vocational courses. Makes sense to me, if someone has no interest in school they will not develop and potentially cause disruption for others. Let them go off and do a course they want to do.

 

[mj4456]

Creating apprenticeships from fresh air, or places in underfunded/overcrowded colleges?

 

[cambsno]

Creating apprenticeships from fresh air, or places in underfunded/overcrowded colleges?

Need to change the mindset - education till 16 in the rigid way we do does not work for everyone, we need to look at something different. Yes, I guess we would create apprentiships and a route into some industries and improve / expand colleges

 

[Mr Bump]

Need to change the mindset - education till 16 in the rigid way we do does not work for everyone, we need to look at something different. Yes, I guess we would create apprentiships and a route into some industries and improve / expand colleges

Some other countries have a higher school leaving age and I do think we need to push our kids to stay longer in education
my daughter is a marine biologist living in Italy , she would never have got there without pushing herself with education.

leaving school at 16 is essentially setting yourself up to fail in life.
Germany minimum is 18

 

[lindsay]

The problem is that many youngsters grow up with no aspiration or ambition, often due to parental attitudes, which leads them to have a negative attitude to education, even the vocational sort. They need incentives, where the idea of some benefit 10 years hence fails to work with them. This, I think, is where a type of mandatory public service at 16 for a year, involving a mix work and training, may work to give them the prod needed to go for something better. I'm not talking of military service, though that could be an option (eg REME, RCT, RAMC or their modern names), but it could include the NHS, Local Councils, etc.

 

[cambsno]

The problem is that many youngsters grow up with no aspiration or ambition, often due to parental attitudes, which leads them to have a negative attitude to education, even the vocational sort. They need incentives, where the idea of some benefit 10 years hence fails to work with them. This, I think, is where a type of mandatory public service at 16 for a year, involving a mix work and training, may work to give them the prod needed to go for something better. I'm not talking of military service, though that could be an option (eg REME, RCT, RAMC or their modern names), but it could include the NHS, Local Councils, etc.

Tories got a lot of stick quite rightly for their national service idea but I think the idea has some legs in a different way - have that as an option ?

 

[onomatopoeia]

The problem is that many youngsters grow up with no aspiration or ambition, often due to parental attitudes, which leads them to have a negative attitude to education, even the vocational sort. They need incentives, where the idea of some benefit 10 years hence fails to work with them. This, I think, is where a type of mandatory public service at 16 for a year, involving a mix work and training, may work to give them the prod needed to go for something better. I'm not talking of military service, though that could be an option (eg REME, RCT, RAMC or their modern names), but it could include the NHS, Local Councils, etc.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do at age 12, worked hard at school and I have been doing it since I graduated university (in fact before, as I worked full time in my field during school and uni holidays). One year compulsory conscription, whether into "public service" or the military would have been treading water to no purpose and just caused resentment of the state that imposed it and the people that voted for the policiticians that legislated for it. They would have literally had to put me in jail as I would have refused, which would have created what benefit for society as a whole or me as an individual?

There were plenty like you describe leaving school in the 1980s when I left school. My parents would tell you there were plenty of the same in the 1950s when there was still conscription for boys and school leavers could walk into jobs at local factories etc. - didn't mean they did any useful work because they were still wasters, but they could easily get a job.

This isn't a new phenomenon. Generation after generation decries the fecklessness of youth. Read some Plato, even over 2000 years ago old codgers moaned about young people lacking respect and ambition.

 

[lindsay]

Of course there have always been young and not so young people choosing not to work or train or be educated. This issue now is that there are rather a lot more of them than ever before, and the means to avoid gainful employment are more readily available to more of them: drugs and the internet.