Nearly 1m young people out of work

[Starfeesh]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62gzl2yl24o

AIBU to be concerned that a life on benefits seems to be a viable option, and glad Labour are bringing in compulsory work placements?

This is an important point.

Ultimately I think we have got to a place with a lot of young people where they just aren't willing to do stuff that they don't want to do and there is no longer an expectation that you just have to crack on with stuff. They see themselves as the ultimate consumer and think society is there to serve them. The entitlement is through the roof in lots of cases and there is an obsession with their rights, mental health and wellbeing.

You see that at school level too. So many kids dropping out of school to do not a lot at home because they apparently can't cope in school. The reality is that many find getting up hard, hate being told what to do and frankly just don't enjoy school. Unlike in previous generations, they now have the belief that it is entirely optional and that you can just avoid school based obligations if you find them difficult or unpleasant. Is it a suprise that young people find it almost impossible to imagine themselves doing work that there are labour shortages such as care work? This involves putting other people first, having real responsibility and obligations and doing some quite unpleasant things that would be conceptually difficult for them to get their heads around. They are used to being the ones calling the shots.

The careers service was quite good when I left school in 1960. They directed me towards the civil service which was a good solid career choice then. Unfortunately I did not like the job. I was sitting in an office working out benefit claims. I left to work as a library assistant. My parents would never have allowed me to sit on my backside at home. All the time I was waiting for my civil service appointment they were pestering me to "get a job" and directing my attention to shops and factories. All they were interested in was to have my paycheck and not to help me get into a career. It was my grandmother who helped me with advice for my civil service job interview.

That is plain foolish. Why isn't he signing on? He is missing out on NI stamps

But they have been raised by their parents. Probably some of whom are posting on here. And they’ve been raised in the current society.

So tell me why it exactly is the fault of young people? They are a product of their upbringing and wider society.

Labour have caused the problem by RR increasing the minimum wage at same time as increasing business rates. She is clueless on businesses.

It wasn’t just Covid, numbers of NEETS (not in employment, education or training) were rising before then. Covid exacerbated the problem.

Toxic systems and the doubling down of them.

I would like them to go a step further and make sure ALL people who are on benefits are put on work and training schemes. Obviously not those who have a disability. But anyone who is not working at all or who is working part-time should be helped into getting off benefits.

That was my son for 6 months age 17. His specialist school ended his placement with 2 months notice saying they could not meet need. He had an EHCP but LA provided no education. I was caring 24/7. He is severely autistic and will never be independent or be able to work. It only ended when I got solicitors involved.

Why does it have to be anyone's 'fault'? It doesn't do the young people any good to exonerate them from responsibility just because they aren't totally to blame for their life circumstances. I mean all of us can blame our parents/society/anyone else for our shortcomings but ultimately it's pointless and doesn't improve future prospects for that individual or change outcomes. I mean stretching your point further, parents today that are raising children this way are the product of their own parents and how society was when they were raised. Where does it stop?

I think the government needs to start pushing compulsory schooling in virtually all cases except when there are exceptional circumstances. They simply can't oversee home education enough to guarantee that every child is getting the education they are legally entitled to. Children should be raised with an expectation that they will be a service provider and employee not merely a consumer of everyone else's effort and money. It will be unpleasant and difficult for most. Most will have jobs they don't like. That's why you're paid and it isn't a voluntary position. I just think we need some serious expectations management on what a productive life actually looks like and we need to force people to be productive for everyone's sake. It benefits us all of everyone does what they can.

Young people just reflect the circumstances and parents who brought them up. It’s not really anyone’s fault, apart from society as a whole.

But if l was them l wouldn’t work long hours for a shit wage and no chance of buying a house either.

Idk what 'compulsory work placement' would entail. Which employers are expected to take on these unwilling individuals who need to be sanctioned into turning up and do a job, one they presumably have no desire to do?

They've tried things like that before and it didn't work. There aren't enough jobs for people ready and willing with decades worth of experience so forcing the bone idle into employment which will be bound to fail shouldn't really be the priority right now?

Are you basing this on your own thoughts or actual experience from young people? The jobs you mention - cleaning, caring - most would rather hire an adult woman than a teenager. The Telegraph at the weekend reported 4 pubs a day are closing. What ‘services’ are advertised on Facebook?

Yes, because you know there is an alternative of claiming benefits. For years people have worked for relatively low wages and with no real prospect of owning a house. A quarter of people owned their own house after the second world war and yet this fact didn't deter that whole generation of people from working in the factories, coal mines and dirty, difficult jobs that made up our economy.

This is what I mean about entitlement. Some jobs have always been and will always be low paid. Some people will never be able to buy a house. That doesn't mean they get to sit around all day claiming benefits instead. You sound like you're part of the problem to be honest.

Nearly half of NEETS are disabled.

This could mean they're dyslexic or have asthma. It doesn't mean all these young people can't work.

Most jobs are low wages now though. And there’s no job security either. I’m 62, l wouldn’t want to live like that either ( and l’ve worked all my life)

Low wages in the past were for low level manual jobs. Now professional staff are on shit salaries Nurses and teachers are paid very badly.

It’s hard to get a job these days. I’m in my late twenties and worked for a prestige airline abroad before my dc. Also worked as a graphic designer. Many years in customer service jobs too.

Out of my uni course, maybe a 1/4 of us actually got a job in the industry.

Ive been turned down from McDonalds (most fast food chains tbh) and even cleaning jobs. I once went to a waitress open day at a hotel chain and the queue was 5 hours in the pissing rain before you had your initial interview. Ended up getting the job in the end but it shows just how competitive it really is.

A lot of years ago I was a trustee at a charity that worked with businesses to place young people in short term roles. We part-funded the placement and I think there was a government scheme around that time. Take up on the government scheme was quite low - probably because a lot of employers imagined it to be as you have. Our model was more successful, possibly because we spent more time explaining the value to businesses and to the community, and we went for blue chip
companies who were more interested in their reputation. They were real jobs, and some of the young people stayed on or joined similar businesses. It was great to see kids - who had never even heard of some of the jobs - make a go of it. I guess a small business or even SME would struggle these days, often cut to the bone themselves and running on tight margins.

But dyslexia which may not affect someone’s ability to work could be a barrier to applying. Why, for example, does the Co-Op, or B&Q, need a four page online form with competency test?

There were 2.6 unemployed people per vacancy in October to December 2025. Employers can be choosy, and dyslexia, or asthma, or anxiety, or lack of experience or qualifications or no driving licence can all be used to reject a young person.

I have an older teen who is neurodiverse, anxious, and due to a recent extremely traumatic incident has ptsd. That doesn’t stop us as parents from setting high standards. She has to function as an adult.

We live on a global economy now with AI. The fact you wouldn't want to live like that is irrelevant. Young people have to make the best of it in the same way that previous generations have had to face war, famine etc. There is no guarantee that life and living standards will always get better. In fact history teaches us the opposite. Mourning the past is unhelpful though.

Fundamentally you share the problematic mindset I referenced upthread. It isn't worth it to you to work these low paid jobs because you know there is an alternative to claim benefits. I imagine if the alternative was instead to stave then suddenly you would find the motivation to work these jobs. Odd that!

Which means half that aren’t- there’s half a million there. Perhaps it would be prudent and easier to concentrate on the non-disabled half first?

To perhaps try and whittle down which candidates could deal with a difficult customer calmly and politely without bursting into tears and needing a week off?

As employee rights increase, job applications are going to become more sophisticated. That’s obvious - to minimise risk to the business.

Benefits? I claimed benefits in the 1980’s in my early 20’s when l couldn’t find a job because youth unemployment was higher than it is now. And in the holidays, because grants didn’t cover holidays and that’s what you were meant to do.
WTF has me claiming benefits got to do with anything? It was 40 fucking years ago or more.

I actually don’t know why people are so sneery about YouTubers. Some of the top YouTubers are millionaires! But even on the lower and medium rungs, it looks like you can make a good, or at least modest living. Certainly a lot of them earn more money than some office workers. As far as I can tell, even moderately successful YouTubers need to be creative, self-reliant, disciplined, come up with new ideas every week etc, as well as developing skills like filming, editing and marketing.

I know some YouTubers stop due to the pressure, and I would absolutely take it seriously if I saw it on someone’s CV.