More teenagers leaving education with no job or training to go to

 

More teenagers are leaving education with no job or training to go to, according to official figures released yesterday.

The proportion of 16-18-year-olds who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in 2011 rose to 8.1 per cent, up from 7.5 per cent in 2010.

The statistics also reveal that there was a slight fall in the proportion of 16-18-year-olds in full-time education, which fell for the first time since 2001, to 70.5 per cent.

Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, said: “The future for these youngsters looks increasingly bleak. With so many people chasing a declining number of jobs, those fresh out of school with no work experience behind them are losing out every time to more experienced jobseekers.

“The government must now surely realise that its decision to cut the education maintenance allowance (EMA) has meant that thousands of teenagers from the UK’s poorest families can no longer afford to continue their education. Without qualifications their chances of finding work anytime soon are slim.”

The University and College Union (UCU) said government policies such as axing the EMA and raising university fees, at a time of high youth unemployment, would make things even harder for young people.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: “At a time when youth unemployment is at record levels, the government’s decision to scrap initiatives such as the EMA look more ill-advised by the day.

“Education is a key social and economic driver and can help young people develop the necessary skills to find jobs and realise their potential. Instead of erecting barriers to study, such as hiking up university fees, the government should follow the example of other countries and invest in education, not cut the very services young people need.”

Children and Families Minister Tim Loughton said: “This is not a new problem. But we are determined to tackle it. We are spending a record £7.5billion on education and training, including high-quality apprenticeships. And we are spending £126million over the next three years on extra targeted support for 55,000 16- and 17-year-olds most in need of education and training.

“Today’s figures are also a clear sign that the education system needs to do more to equip young people with the knowledge and skills employers that colleges and universities want.”

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from £749pp Find out more
Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast
Seven nights half-board from only £859pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from only £199pp Find out more
 
iJobs Job Widget
iJobs Education

Room Leader NVQ Level 3

Negotiable: Capita Education Resourcing Permanent Team: Room Leader NVQ Level ...

Deputy Nursery Manager

Negotiable: Capita Education Resourcing Permanent Team: Deputy Nursery Manager...

Nursery Manager

Negotiable: Capita Education Resourcing Permanent Team: Nursery Manager Nurse...

Nursery nurse level 2 or level 3

Negotiable: Capita Education Resourcing Permanent Team: Nursery Nurse NVQ Leve...

Day In a Page

Beards, brawn and body art

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

Laughter Inc

The cheering growth of the chuckle industry
The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends
Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners are planting veg for the masses in West Yorkshire

Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners

Holly Williams joins the volunteers who have turned a small town into a thriving community with a guerrilla gardening scheme that has provided a blueprint for sustainability.
Seasoned to taste: The restaurants that draw happy diners back year after year

Seasoned to taste: Food institutions

In an industry famed for short-lived success and pop-up pretenders, it takes something special to stick around.
Anatomy of a waiter: Service staff spill the secrets of their trade

Anatomy of a waiter: Staff spill their secrets

Next Sunday is the first ever National Waiters' Day. To celebrate, we share tales from the restaurant trenches by those in the front line.
Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

From complex English sparkling wine to juicy Sicilian reds...
Iran election: Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...

Robert Fisk

Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...
India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

After 163 years India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

Mobile phones and the internet have superseded the once-essential service