Hull has a deep-seated youth unemployment problem which has grown as young people have been hit disproportionately by the economic downturn. So what can be done to prevent a “lost generation” of young people without the focus, discipline, confidence and opportunity that employment provides?
Of course, there’s no simple solution to an issue with causes much more complex than simply fewer employment opportunities in a fragile economy. However, increasingly, two words feature prominently as organisations across Hull strive to rescue that lost generation - employability and enterprise.
Those words were recurring themes at a Hull and East Yorkshire Bondholders breakfast meeting focused on initiatives to help young people into work. They are also at the heart of an encouraging wave of ventures in Hull, such as the Future Hull initiative, Employability Charter and Studio School, aimed at making the city’s young people ready for the world of work.
The concept of employability recognises that many young people simply don’t have the basic skills and qualities employers require. It’s a key reason for the disconnect of so many young people unable to get a job when there are substantial numbers of unfilled vacancies.
JobCentre Plus District Manager Stuart Griffiths told the Bondholders meeting that, while the economic situation had made getting a job much tougher, it was a myth that there were no jobs available. Despite high unemployment in Hull, there were 2,000 unfilled vacancies in September.
Unfortunately, he said, too many young people aren’t suitable for those jobs. Lack of work ethic, confidence and motivation; untidy appearance and dress standards; and poor literacy - these are among a patchwork of issues that mean so many of them are not “employable”. Many companies will rather not hire anyone than take on a young person without the basics to be a positive, professional and productive employee.
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| Talented Hull Studio School student Harry Kemp |
It’s a change warmly welcomed by business. While no-one wishes to denigrate academic achievement, it’s clear that the only thing that really matters in today’s jobs market is how employable a person is.
The Bondholders meeting showcased the Future Hull initiative which has employability at its heart. Its purpose is to provide a “one-stop shop” for both employers and young people looking for work. It will cut through the complexities that deter employers from hiring young people, offering apprenticeships or making work placements available.
Mr Griffiths said it would “hide the wires” to be a single, simple point of contact for businesses to access support and funding for recruitment, training and apprenticeships. Crucially, it will match employable young people with recruiting companies.
Reinforcing the employability theme, Hull Future’s key objective turns the unemployment issue on its head to focus on the numbers of young people in employment. It aims to raise the percentage employed from a desperately-low 42% to 50%, in line with comparable Northern cities.
The aims of Future Hull and the focus on employability were endorsed and reinforced by other speakers at the Bondholders event.
Sam Whitaker, Chief Executive of the Hull Esteem Consortium which is transforming the physical landscape of education in Hull through the Building Schools for the Future programme, said 33 companies had committed their support to Hull’s Employability Charter. Under the scheme, businesses are asked to sign up to the Charter to recognise the work that is being done alongside education providers to embed employability skills.
Former Apprentice star Claire Young brought together employability and enterprise in talking about Hull’s ground-breaking Studio School, for which she is the Enterprise Ambassador. Her presentation was timely, coming the day before the official opening of the school at an event that showcased how it is developing young people with all the right employability skills.
One of the first of its kind, the Studio School has been founded by Hull College and enables young people to “learn in the real world”. The entire culture and ethos is business-like. Office hours apply as students study core GCSE subjects, including English, maths and science, alongside vocational topics. Their work is focused on business and enterprise through projects for partner companies.
As a guest at the official opening, I and many others were deeply impressed by how mature, articulate and professional the school’s young people are. They engaged confidently with business leaders, using various creative ways to showcase their achievements, attributes and projects.
Principal Paul Styles told guests the school was focused on instilling “motivation, confidence, drive and ambition” in young people. It’s early days, but it seems to be working. Many of the students have ambitions to launch their own businesses - not only are they employable, they want to be employers. They have certainly embraced the enterprise spirit at the heart of the Studio School concept.
The Studio School official opening was performed by Education Minister Lord Hill. He talked about how studio schools “bring education and the world of work completely together” and said the combination of educational qualifications and vocational skills was “an idea whose time has come”. He applauded Hull College for pioneering the concept and congratulated Hull parents for choosing to send their children to the Studio School.
Those parents have recognised that their children - indeed Hull’s young people - need something different. In the “real world”, employability and enterprise are the keys to employment and career success. Hull may have a huge youth unemployment problem, but it also has the big ideas and innovative approaches to tackle it.
Find out more about Hull’s employability initiatives via these links:
Future Hullhttp://www.futurehull.org
Employability Charterhttp://www.employabilitycharter.co.uk
Hull Studio Schoolhttp://www.hullstudioschool.co.uk
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