UCU calls for 'one stop' advice centres for unemployed youngsters
7 April 2010
UCU today welcomed a report from the Children, Schools and Families select committee, which called for more targeted support for young people.
The union, which submitted evidence to the committee, said the current system was a nightmare for young people to negotiate and backed proposals for local 'one stop' advice centres that offered guidance on financial support, employment and training.
UCU said access to education was vital as youngsters with no qualifications are over four times more likely to be unemployed than those with just an A-level (see notes). However, the union warned that making education compulsory for NEETs risked turning hard-to-reach youngsters off education.
The union also warned that planned spending cuts to adult learning would make it much harder for 19- 24-year-olds to find suitable college programmes to get them back into work. Further education colleges in England face a £200m reduction in funding for adults. The government's own figures show that 130,000 people will miss out on a college place and 7,000 jobs are at risk as a result of the cuts.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'I am pleased that the committee has recognised the importance of providing more targeted support to youngsters. The current system is a complete minefield and impossible to navigate. It's as if it has been designed deliberately to put people off.
'It is really important that we listen to the needs of young people, which is why making courses compulsory for hard-to reach youngsters is not the way forward. If the government is serious about helping the thousands of people not in work, education or training then it needs to provide proper funding.
'Thousands of jobs are at risk in adult learning, which will obviously damage provision for adults, but will also seriously hit colleges' capacity to respond to the needs of young people. Colleges don't operate in separate silos; teachers teach both young people and adults. If teachers lose their jobs because of adult cuts they clearly won't be available to teach young people.'
| Unemployment of 18 to 24 year olds in England by highest qualification held: Three month periods ending September 2009: England, not seasonally adjusted | |||
| National qualification framework (NQF) | Total economically active | Unemployed and not in full-time education | percentage |
| No qualifications | 120,000 | 40,000 | 33 |
| Below NQF Level 2 (equivalent to one GCSE) | 522,000 | 121,000 | 23 |
| NQF Level 2 (equivalent to five GCSEs at grade A-C) | 761,000 | 119,000 | 16 |
| NQF Level 3 (equivalent to one A-level) | 1,044,000 | 88,000 | 8 |
Source: Hansard, 18 January 2010, column 54W. PQ Laws to Smith
- PrintPrint this page
- Share
Comments