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New figures from ONS show an increase in the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
Over one million people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment, or training.
That is one in eight young people, up 1% on the year prior and the highest level in 12 years.
An interim report commissioned by the government was published yesterday looking at the challenges facing young people.
Alan Milburn, former Health Secretary, said in the report this should be treated as an urgent national crisis.
Chris Watson is a team leader for Ascend, a Sheffield based charity which supports young people into work.
Ascend offers young people work experience, mentoring and training working in collaboration with charities and businesses.
He has found more and more young people are coming to them for support.
He said “I think there’s a stigma there which people might think that people are lazy or they’re not wanting to work. But actually the market for entry-level jobs is quite a lot more challenging than it has been for a long time.”
He added: “I think real focus on trying to ignite that entry-level job market is the most important piece of work that needs to be done.”
The UK job market is increasingly difficult, for more on this read here.
Mr Milburn’s report found there is a huge financial cost for the UK with the number of young people out of work.
The report estimates the annual cost is £125 billion.
Mr Watson gave his advice to young people struggling to find work:
“First of all, you’re doing great. You are resilient. There are a lot of things working against you to find work at the moment, so keep going.
“But obviously, if you need a bit more support or you’re interested, then get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.”
