A former Labour minister has issued a stark warning that the rapid disappearance of traditional Saturday jobs and paper rounds is creating a 'lost generation' of young people ill-equipped for the world of work.
The End of a Rite of Passage
Alan Milburn, who is leading a major government review into youth unemployment, highlighted the 'longstanding decline' in weekend work over the last two decades as a critical factor. He described these roles, where teenagers worked a few hours weekly to learn basic skills and earn their own money, as a vital rite of passage.
'Previous generations, including mine, were all brought up where most of us had that type of job or had a paper round or whatever,' Milburn told The Times. 'That not only provided youngsters with the opportunity to earn but it also allowed teenagers to learn about what it meant to be in a workplace.'
He argued that such jobs taught fundamental disciplines like punctuality and suggested it is 'too lazy to just blame today's youngsters for not being work ready.' Without this early experience, he fears school learning is not 'necessarily pertinent for the world of work.'
Alarming Statistics on Youth Engagement
The data underpinning the review reveals a profound shift. In the UK today, fewer than one in five 16 to 17-year-olds are working, a sharp fall from half at the start of the century. Nearly a million young people aged 16 to 24 are classified as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training).
More concerningly, the latest figures show that three in five of these NEETs are not actively seeking work. For 16 and 17-year-olds not in full-time education, half are neither working nor looking for work, a significant rise from a third a decade ago.
While overall UK employment grew by 9% over the last ten years, the number of under-17s on payrolls fell by 6.4%.
Radical Reforms on the Table
Milburn's review, due to report in spring, is considering sweeping changes to prevent a generational crisis. A central proposal is adopting an Australian-style benefits model for young people.
Under this system, the 'youth allowance' for 16 to 22-year-olds is contingent on proving they are seeking work, in full-time study, or an apprenticeship. Payments are also lower than adult benefits and can be reduced based on parental income.
Other potential measures include:
- A personal fund to help young people access work.
- Making benefits dependent on enrolling in training or apprenticeships.
- A 'Youth Guarantee Scheme' offering 18-21-year-olds unemployed for 18 months a choice of a six-month paid placement, training, or apprenticeship, with benefits cut for non-engagement.
- Reinvesting health benefits removed from under-22s into wage subsidies.
Milburn will also examine the impact of the rising minimum wage for young people and the increase in youth mental health diagnoses affecting employability.
'If we are to avoid a lost generation we have to find new ways of reversing those trends,' Milburn vowed, promising 'radical solutions.' The review's ultimate goal is to ensure every young person gets the chance to 'learn how to work.'
