Construction can solve the NEET crisis
The ‘Young people and work: interim report’ has been released, highlighting the challenges young people face when getting into word and what the Government needs to think about to ensure a reduction of those Not in Education Employment and Training (NEET).
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “In construction, the Government has a perfect example of how Alan Milburn’s findings play out in practice and why NEETs have been let down. This is because despite the sector having high wages, the education system does not view it as a career pathway young people should be aspiring to while constructors continue to be taxed and regulated to the point where they cannot afford to take on new learners.”
In the report, the construction industry is highlighted as being a fountain of untapped potential to solve this crisis, however one key barrier to utilising it is what it refers to as ‘the growing gap between what the workplace demands from day one and what a significant proportion of young applicants are equipped to provide’.
The foundations of the education system are brought into question within the report, citing the measurement of schools on educational attainment rather than employment-based outcomes as one of the catalysts of the NEET crisis. It argues that the outcomes for those within the education system that are most at risk for becoming NEET often correlate with poor educational attainment, compounded by the limited work experience opportunities and careers guidance being offered to offset the resultant impact on these individuals’ futures.
The report also refers to the ‘pastoral burden’ presented to businesses by hiring young entrants to the industry, impacting small businesses most significantly. Many employers describe experiences with the NEET generation as being less work-ready (both mentally and physically) with low confidence, anxiety and health needs being challenges that employers find it difficult to overcome.
It is reported that large employers, with more abundant resources to allocate towards support systems for young entrants, may be able to absorb some of this risk. However, this presents a more significant challenge to the viability of smaller businesses, developing a culture of ‘cautious hiring’ within which the safer hire is the older, more experienced worker.
One large employer recounted that they found it necessary to hire a social worker to support younger staff – further compiling the cost of training and supervising new entrants to the industry and creating a circumstance whereby hiring young workers has become a ‘bet that many cannot afford to take’.
Rico Wojtulewicz, director of policy and market insight at the NFB, said: “The NEET issue is not all that complicated. it is about careers that learners can access. Unfortunately, the UK has spent decades devaluing the link between career path and employer, while taxing employers to fund training for careers that are not there.
We just need to look back to understand this. In the 1980’s, when SMEs built around 40% of homes, the UK trained more bricklayers and carpenters than we do all construction apprentices today, a period where SMEs build around 9% of homes. This is why, when the government announced an intent to support SME housebuilders with the creation of a medium sized site of 10 to 49 homes, industry rejoiced – particularly as it did so in the knowledge that 8 in 10 construction apprentices were trained by SMEs.
If we further the conversation, colleges often cite oversubscription of construction courses, while bemoaning a lack of businesses able to offer vocational training. A lack of SME businesses. Whatever the industry, if we want to help NEETs, we must ensure that our career creating employers are solvent enough to train and retain them.”