Latest news with #Neet
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The worklessness crisis ravaging Corbyn's North London enclave
Often lauded as one of London's most middle-class hubs, Islington seems an unlikely place for high unemployment. Yet the numbers don't lie. According to a new report, young people in the borough are more likely to be unemployed or out of education than almost all other parts of the country. In fact, only four other local authorities have a higher likelihood of young people becoming Neet (not in education, employment nor training). That is despite Islington boasting the ninth-highest level of household income in the UK at £38,638, well ahead of the national average of £21,259, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This disparity is encapsulated by Islington having the second-highest number of pupils on school meals in England, demonstrating the stark divide between Islington's rich and poor. This wealth gap has been cited as one of the drivers for soaring worklessness in the borough, which has ballooned post-Covid. 'You have these pockets of extreme wealth next to these pockets of relatively severe deprivation,' says Ben Gadsby, the head of policy and research at the charity Impetus. 'There will definitely be some bits of Islington that will be noticeably more deprived than people are expecting.' Barriers to work Cavan is just one of many young people in the borough struggling to find work. After leaving school, he had hoped to land a job in retail and even applied to the Army – but he remains unemployed. To boost his chances of employment, Cavan recently enrolled in Spear Islington, a six-week scheme for 16 to 24-year-olds aimed at getting them into work, training or education. The Spear programme, led by employment charity Resurgo, was found to have reduced a young person's likelihood of being Neet by 17pc, offering coaching and interview advice. However, initiatives such as Spear are few and far between in Islington, as well as in areas nearby. Ayesha Baloch, a senior policy adviser at Impetus, says there is a wide range of barriers that prevent young people from finding employment. One such obstacle is a lack of awareness of what's out there, she says, particularly for poorer households. 'Part of the reason that work experience, internships and representation is so important is because it gives young people the opportunity to see someone like them working in sectors that they maybe wouldn't have heard of,' says Baloch. 'You have some communities where they're predominantly working in hospitality or they run restaurants so they maybe wouldn't have as much of a concept of working in a bank.' Ironically, Islington's worklessness crisis has emerged despite Jeremy Corbyn, the constituency's MP, previously winning over young workers by championing radical Left-wing policies. During his time as Labour leader, he vowed to abolish university tuition fees and introduce a £10 minimum wage for under-18s. However, since splitting from his former party and serving Islington North as an independent, Corbyn has increasingly focused on more geopolitical issues such as the Israel-Gaza conflict. Meanwhile, thousands of young people in his constituency struggle to find work, like many others elsewhere in the country. There are 923,000 16 to 24-year-olds classed as Neet in the UK, according to the ONS, up from 793,000 in 2020. As well as Islington, other local authorities affected by the crisis include Middlesbrough, Knowsley, Nottingham and Hartlepool. Soaring Neet figures have prompted charities to take action. Gadsby says that reducing the rate of Neets is 'about understanding different people's needs and a programme that works for them'. 'Different young people are going to have different challenges, which I think is part of the reason this has been a perennial problem, because there probably isn't a simple one-size-fits-all scheme that solves everything,' he says. Rise in mental health complaints Another barrier facing young people is a lack of preparation. A recent report from IPPR found that fewer than half of young people (47pc) felt ready for work after education. Mangala Nanda, chief learning officer at Generation, a charity that runs job-specific boot camps to get people into work, says 'the link between education and employment is not strong enough'. 'We see that there are lots of people who go into university, they've taken on all of that debt, and then six months go by, one year goes by, two years go by – and they've not managed to get a job,' she says. Resurgo is one of the charities attempting to help Neets in Islington, working with youngsters who face barriers such as poor qualifications, a family history of unemployment or special educational needs. Pete Bacon, the deputy chief executive of the group, said a sharp rise in mental health complaints post-Covid has also fuelled unemployment. 'The number of young people we enrol who are now reporting mental health issues of some type feels really significant,' he says. 'The amount of young people we now speak to who, day to day, are just not leaving their house, sometimes, no exaggeration, for years they won't have actually left their building'. One of Resurgo's most successful offerings is the Spear programme. At Spear Islington, its six-week programme is in full swing. Young people are hearing from coaches about professionalism in their workplace, phone communication skills and practising interview techniques. 'I've personally learnt to be more confident and to know it's not just me that has a hard time looking for jobs or looking for studies, it's a community of people that struggle,' says Hailey, one of the participants. The programme also works with local companies to create a network between young people and businesses. However, others claim a complete shift in perception is needed to help Islington's unemployed youngsters. Anna, the centre manager of Spear Islington, says: 'We need to myth-bust that Islington is just a wealthy borough because it's got wealth. 'It also has great deprivation, and I think that can often get overlooked depending on where you go and what circles you mix in.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Just HALF of school leavers are 'work-ready' with four in ten never having done any work experience
Only half of today's youngsters are leaving school feeling 'ready for work' amid an explosion in 'Neets', a survey has found. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found only 47 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds say they left school work-ready. This compares to 54 per cent of those aged 25 to 34, 67 per cent of those aged 55 to 64, and 74 per cent of over-64s. It comes amid a youth unemployment crisis, with nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds now Neet (not in education, employment, or training) – an 11-year high. The think tank said the apparent decrease in work readiness could be due to a lack of work experience opportunities in school. It found 40 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds never completed a work experience placement at school, compared with only 25 per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds. And 57 per cent of the younger age group said finding work experience opportunities was reliant on 'who you know, not what you know'. The report said access to work experience is 'still overly reliant on social capital like personal or family networks'. It said 38 per cent of those aged 16 to 25 found out about work experience via their parents or family friends. And 23 per cent said there were no good work experience opportunities in their local area. The nationally-representative poll of more than 3,000 16 to 75-year-olds in the UK was carried out by Savanta. The IPPR called for more work experience and careers education at school, and a boost to apprenticeships, to make youngsters more employable. Office for National Statistics figures showed there were 987,000 Neet 16 to 24-year-olds in autumn last year, up from 877,000 the previous year and the highest level since 2013. Avnee Morjaria, an associate director at IPPR, said: 'The Prime Minister's ambition to level the playing field for young people is absolutely right, but our data shows we are moving too slowly, and too many are being left behind. 'With almost a million young people now Neet, we need a serious plan to rebuild opportunity. 'That means support that doesn't stop at the school gates – and a national effort to ensure every young person can thrive.'
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Time of India
Six students injured in wasp attack
Trichy: Six students of the govt girls' higher secondary school in Musiri suffered mild injuries in a wasp attack on Friday. Authorities said a group of students who wrote their Class XII exams came to attend the Neet coaching classes at the school around 10am when they were attacked by a swarm of wasps. The panicked girls rushed out of the school. At least six of them were injured. Staff members rushed them to Musiri GH. Fire and rescue services personnel led by Musiri station officer M Karnan cleared the nest. "We found the nest in a wooden cupboard inside an unused storeroom. We cleared it using insecticides," said a fire officer.
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Stalin challenges EPS to demand Neet cancellation as pre-condition for alliance with BJP
Status: Approved Stalin challenges EPS to demand Neet cancellation as pre-condition for aligning with BJP TNN Chennai: A heated debate in the state assembly saw chief minister M K Stalin challenge AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to make NEET cancellation a precondition for the party aligning with BJP for the 2026 assembly poll. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Writing in English Doesn't Have to Feel Hard Grammarly Learn More Undo "I'm not going into whether we are right or wrong. I am not going to debate it. Do you have the guts to tell BJP that you will not be a part of their alliance if they do not cancel NEET in Tamil Nadu?" Stalin asked Palaniswami during the debate for grants for the health department. Earlier, when members were arguing about the number of medical colleges established during the previous 10-year AIADMK regime, Palaniswami said the state cannot use lack of permission from the centre as "an excuse" for not starting new medical colleges in the last four years. Transport minister S S Shivashankar accused AIADMK of clinching a deal with the BJP-led govt to start new medical colleges. "The eleven medical colleges were established in the state during the AIADMK regime as a quid pro quo for allowing NEET in TN," he said. Palaniswami retorted, saying that NEET was first conceived in 2010 when DMK was a part of the Congress-led UPA govt. A Congress leader's wife argued in favour of NEET in the court, he said. Stalin, who was listening to the debate, wanted to know if the party would push for cancellation of NEET. When Palaniswami responded, saying decisions on NEET can be taken only by the Supreme Court, Shivashankar wanted to know why AIADMK members held candle marches against NEET. Palaniswami then accused DMK of cheating people by promising they would get an exemption from NEET if they assumed office. In response, Stalin said DMK would have succeeded if their alliance had won the Lok Sabha polls. He asked Palaniswami why they decided to align with BJP after saying they would have no alliance with the national party. Palaniswami said the DMK allied with Congress despite the anti-Hindi agitation, Emergency, and MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) imposition. MSID:: 120487448 413 |
Telegraph
07-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Gen Z needs to learn the valuable life lessons of having a job
A first job is rarely thrilling. From my late teens to early 20s , my experiences ranged from serving slices of ham in a supermarket, handing out club-night flyers on the street, spritz-ing perfume in a department store and working in a dreary office on an isolated business park. The jobs were a means to an end, paying for my travelling after university, a tacky sixth-form holiday, an extra £1 vodka Red Bull on a Thursday night out in Watford. But these jobs also came with important life lessons, and sometimes were even quite a lot of fun. There's a lot to be said for a humdrum job at the start of adulthood. For example, it's unlikely The Office sitcom would exist if Ricky Gervais hadn't drawn on his own memories of stale corporate life. But these experiences seem to be fading away. Three in five young people who are neither learning nor working have ever had a paid job, according to figures published last week by the Learning and Work Institute. Most of those not in education, employment or training (Neets) are also not even looking. As rates of mental ill-health and inactivity soar among young people, enough hasn't been said about the benefits of working a mundane job early in life. A screen-obsessed generation picking an idle life over work will look back with regret. Even if they don't realise it yet, avoiding adulthood means missing out not only on important interactions and opportunities but also on life's more uncomfortable-but-necessary moments, such as dealing with criticism. That's not to say that people should put up with nasty, unpleasant bosses picking on them, but that some constructive feedback and debate is part and parcel of working life. Bosses are getting frustrated with younger workers who they feel don't get it. Alex Mahon, the chief executive of Channel 4, said a few years ago that young people were coming into the workforce with no capacity for opinions that differ from their own. Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag claimed this year that modern footballers struggle to cope with criticism. 'The generation that I grew up in had much thicker skin. You could be much more direct,' he said. While it's no bad thing if old-school managers learn to use a little sugar-coating, there are limits. Not having a paid job until much later into adulthood (and not studying either) means that life can become an online echo chamber with no structure, and as we know, that bubble can quickly become a dangerous one. More than half of parents said their children would be happier if social media did not exist, according to research by More in Common and the New Britain Project for the National Education Union. As life becomes more inward and online, looking outward can look like a scarier and scarier prospect. Having skipped those banal early jobs and perhaps spent some time as a Neet, those who do enter the workforce later on can then show an intolerance to discomfort or difference. A London law firm that pays its graduates £180,000 a year recently advertised for a so-called support lawyer as it said Gen Z staff need 'more hand-holding' to get through the working day. Lawyers posting on legal blog RollOnFriday, which first reported the job advert, complained that Gen Z trainees were refusing to accept criticism and were complaining to HR when told they were wrong. I don't agree with the stereotype that Gen Z are a bunch of snowflakes – there are clearly mental health challenges affecting this age group, which have been fuelled not only by Covid but also the rise of social media. But among healthy young adults who are able to work but are not looking to do so, the benefits of a job have clearly been undersold. Meeting new people (which importantly includes ones who are not like-minded), gaining structure, learning from feedback, working out what you do or don't want to do in life – the list of benefits is endless and long-lasting. Yet there are countless studies explaining why Gen Z might want to snub the grind. Many will think why leave the house for some dreary shifts with a jobsworth boss, especially if saving feels pointless as a growing number give up on the prospect of home ownership. After all, just 10pc of British workers say they are actively engaged in work, according to a poll by Gallup – not exactly good PR for employment. Some of that disconnect will be down to a complete lack of career guidance. Research published by the London Interdisciplinary School last week found that 23pc of 18 to 24-year-olds do not believe that there is a degree suitable for their desired career, while 45pc of 25 to 34-year-old graduates said they felt shocked by their lack of readiness for real-life challenges once they started working. If more Neets took on odd jobs, they could figure out from an earlier age what it is they want from a career. Others might have watched parents or older siblings get dragged into a rat race that they simply don't fancy being part of. According to a survey by Santander UK, 76pc of those born after 1996 do not want to work for someone else. But all entrepreneurs need to learn from somewhere, and they certainly need to be able to take on criticism in order to master their craft. Work can be the ticket out for those who feel stuck in a rut, but accepting feedback and a bit of friction needs to be a part of that. A first job won't be a dream come true, but it's certainly not a young person's dream to feel trapped at home all day.
