UK’S YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS INCREASES – NEETS PROGRAM SET TO FAIL

Written by Michael Thervil

UK’S YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS INCREASES – NEETS PROGRAM SET TO FAIL | PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN

[UK youth unemployment crisis NEETS to fail] In the United Kingdom, teens and young adults are not only finding it difficult to be gainfully employed, but they are finding it nearly impossible. According to the UK’s O.N.S. (Office for National Statistics) 16% of teens and adults between the ages of 16-24 are unemployed. That is three times the amount of the current national average for the total number of citizens in the UK, which stands at 5%. The reason given by employers in all sectors is because of the high cost associated with operating in the UK. Of all the employment sectors in the UK, the ones that have been hit the hardest are low paying entry level jobs such as retail and hospitality.

While employers were citing rising costs in the UK as the main driver in terms of low hiring rates, other variables such as the increased use of artificial intelligence, online retail sales, and the governmental policy that demanded that there be an increase in minimum wage. Like its American counterpart, job seekers are faced with having to apply to an average of 50 applications to obtain one to two interviews with a prospective employer. That means like America, job seekers in the UK have found themselves trapped in a hyper competitive job market.

Lower wage and unskilled workers are not the only ones having to deal with the employment crisis in the UK. College graduates with Bachelor’s or Master’s Degrees are also feeling as if it's impossible to secure employment as well. In the case of job seekers that fall between the ages of 16-24, the government created a subsidy program with the aim of offsetting the increase in those unemployed and those that fall within this age bracket. The program is called “NEETS” which stands for “Not in Education Employment, or Training”. The NEETS program is the governmental response to set aside £820 million in funding or $1.1 trillion in funding to aid 946,000 young people that are considered “disengaged” and fall into this category.

The question that many citizens within the UK are asking is “Will this program actually work?” While some are hopeful, many remain skeptical because like with all governmental programs, there always seems to be more waste, fraud, and abuse that arises from the implementation of initiatives like NEETS. With teens and young adults either turning their backs on their governments or simply being disengaged from seeking employment despite their current dire economic circumstances and futures, there’s simply no definitive answer to what the outcome will be. But if we are to use history as our guide, the NEETS program appears to be doomed to failure.