Can we talk about NEETs?

[MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack]

Sorry if there's a thread already and I've missed it. But I want to talk about NEETs.

Apparently, we are potentially going to have 1.25million young people not in employment, education or training by the early 2030s. This is quite an alarming number, and it feels like we're failing an entire generation - both the NEETs themselves, who don't seem to have very much going on in their lives that might give them a sense of satisfaction or achievement, but also their working peers who will presumably end up having to support them via the tax system.

I really don't want this to be a thread with lots of judgement or criticism of these young people - it seems to me that we must have failed them somehow as a society. I also want to steer clear of party politics if we can. But I really want to understand why we have so many young people in this position right now.

Does anyone have a child in this situation who would be willing to share why they find themselves in this position? What are the barriers to them studying or getting at least a part time job? Are they happy with how things are right now? Are they trying to change their situation? What do they actually do all day? Are they surrounded by friends who are in the same position? What do they do about money? And what do you feel about the whole situation as a parent?

If anyone is willing to share, I really hope we can avoid a pile-on in which the young people and/or their parents are subjected to a character assassination. I would like an honest and frank exchange of views and experiences because I do genuinely want to understand the root causes of this issue, but if it descends into blame and fingerpointing, then the whole conversation will get derailed.

For full disclosure, I do have a dc in the middle of the 16-24 age group, but neither she nor any of her friends fall into this category.

Yes we’ve had young graduates not able to make eye contact, shaking with nerves and barely able to speak (no disability declared)
Our admin lady is a grandma type in her 60s who brings them to the room with a bit of chit chat like was your journey here ok and some just blank her. We are two middle aged mums in interview it’s not high powered corporate and always include some easy questions they must surely have expected inc a team work one.
I was so despondent last time that I did interviewing session with my Girlguides.
I presume unis offer practice interviews but maybe aren’t basic enough or they don’t utilise careers service.

At least your company is trying to warm them up with gentle female interviewers. Most interviews feel like youve been subjected to a cross examination by the prosecution even for experienced candidates

Yep, it was basically the same setup as yours, bigger but a very casual office, and we were often blanked on just the chitchat (Do you want a coffee? Was the drive here okay, weather is miserable today isnt it etc) and just got stared at in response.

I find that very strange. I work with young people ( admittedly they are the ones with jobs as I see them in an apprenticeship setting) and they are all perfectly polite, fine talking to me, to their managers etc. I had one with ADHD who showed me a dizzyingly complicated chart she had devised to help her keep track of her coursework. My DS is 18 and he and his friends are all chatty and friendly to me. They will chatter away despite not really knowing me that well. Some of them are a bit overly friendly if I'm honest in a way I wouldn't have been with my friends parents. I have a bit of a socially awkward DS2 who is younger but he would still say ' no thank you' if someone offered him a drink!

I just read an article in The Times about wealthy parent paying up to 30k to coaches who claim they can get their DCs past AI recruitment.

Yes, we do need to learn from other countries. Makes a lot of sense.

If wealthy parents have to resort to those extremes (presumably alongside wealth they have networks and connections too) , what hope do the rest of us have?