Youth Unemployment: A Student’s Perspective

an article provided by Sam Curran, an Education Student at our Lancaster Campus

If you have wandered round a nondescript town centre dispensing as many CVs as you possibly can (for no reward) or looked on the Job Centre Plus site every day or even been forced to claim benefits then you will know all about the effects of recession. Whilst media coverage tends to focus on redundancy and lack of jobs for middle aged people it is actually the younger generation, those who are in-between the ages of 18-25 that are suffering the most.

Youth unemployment is at a record high and the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) has risen by an incredible 100 per cent in some areas of the country. According to recent statistics the worst hit area is the North East (where I’m originally from) where the benefits claims of 18-25 year olds has risen a staggering 43 percent in the last year. Interestingly in the more affluent South East benefit applications have dropped 5.9 per cent. The situation is further compounded by the obvious fact that the government has to make cuts to try and stimulate economic growth and many benefits claims will either be rejected or reduced. How on earth will this benefit people of my generation?

However the effect of youth unemployment cannot just be gauged by simple statistics (although on average benefits applications have increased by 8 % across the UK in the last year), the effects seem even more pronounced when you look at each individual case. Take my situation for my example:

I’m an 18 year old student studying secondary teaching with maths at the Lancaster Campus at the University of Cumbria. In three years’ time I will graduate from my degree and have £25,000 debt to contend with. Will I have any kind of savings to fall back on whilst paying this debt? Not in the current economic climate I won’t. For the past two months I have been searching (fruitlessly) for a part-time job to boost my savings. I have put in over 200 job applications, given out so many CVs I must have covered every shop in the town centre twice and searched on the net for job vacancies and what do I have for my efforts…….. absolutely nothing! Most firms can’t even be bothered to reply and the ones that do trot out the vague phrase: “good candidate, but not enough retail experience”. How much experience do they want?!? For the record, I have had a proper temp job in the past and gone in every Saturday religiously to volunteer at Oxfam in my home town of Darlington. The fact is there is very little chance to get retail experience these days.

Perhaps I’m one of the lucky ones though. I have a loan to cover my living and tuition fee costs but what about when I leave Uni? £25,000 worth of debt and nothing to fall back on. What do I do then? Withdraw from the bank of Mum and Dad? Take out an overdraft? None of the options are desirable, especially when it is even harder to get a foot on the property market these days so it would seem I will be consigned to renting a house for the next decade with no realistic hope of actually ever owning my own house.

Some might say that I’ll be fine: I’ll be earning more than enough as a teacher and they are “paid far too much” anyway. Realistically though the starting wage of a teacher is £20,000 which sounds a lot but looks a lot less impressive when you take away bills and paying off my student loan. The fact is not getting a job now will harm me in the long term.

Some suggestions have been mooted by the government: they plan to make anyone unemployed carry out a six month “community work programme” for 30 hours each week. It is compulsory: anyone who refuses will have their benefits taken away. This would not solve the problem though: in fact it could exacerbate it if some people refuse to carry out these work placements.

So it seems I and a number of people of similar age are consigned to a period of unemployment and no chance of earning some extra cash. I’ve now got to the point where I’m doing surveys online to try and earn a little bit of money (although the most I can make is £40 per month). I’m also considering volunteering again at a charity shop although will that even look good on my CV to employers? In short, youth unemployment is a big problem and it doesn’t look like it is going away any time soon.

Teacher Training News

Here are some latest highlights on developments in teacher training:

FE Teachers Able to Teach in Schools?

Subject to approval by parliament, schools will from April 2012 be able to employ teachers who hold qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS - the professional status for teachers in further education). Head teachers will have the freedom to employ the qualified teacher that best meets the requirements of the job, regardless of whether their background is in schools or further education. Currently, QTLS holders cannot take up posts in Secondary schools.

Plans for Primary Teacher Training

From 2012/13 the Training and Development Agency (TDA) will prioritise primary courses that offer a specialism, particularly in the sciences, mathematics or modern languages. For 2013/14 they expect to adjust financial incentives for trainees to favour trainees on specialist primary courses with a good A-level in mathematics, a science, or a language, over those on generalist courses. They will also require most trainees to hold a 2.1 or first to be eligible for a bursary.

PGCE Bursaries for 2012-13

In line with a new TDA strategy to prioritise trainees with the best qualifications, bursaries for 2012-13 will vary considerably according to the level of degree attained by the applicant as well as teaching shortage areas.

So a Secondary Maths, Physics or Modern Languages student will receive £20,000 if they achieve a first class degree but only £12,000 if they only get a 2.2. The comparative figures for Primary trainees with the same qualifications will be £9,000 and £0.

Information Source: AGCAS

Col's Comment:

Along with the proposal to allow former HM Forces employees to enter teaching if they can pass relevant skills tests, the new bursary structure may be the most controversial part of the new teacher training strategy. It has been well-researched that students from prosperous backgrounds are more likely to achieve high grades, thus entitling them to the de-luxe level bursaries. Some may therefore query the lack of an 'inclusiveness' element in the new strategy and feel it reflects the political preferences of current policy makers.

Study in the USA - Help from the Fulbright Commission

The Fulbright Commission is generally agreed to be the best starting place for all students and graduates looking to study in the USA.

The help they can offer includes:

• Study in the USA Events
  
  
• Postgraduate Study in the US Seminars and Webinars
  
  
• Fulbright Awards (scholarships for postgraduate study and research, tenable in any field at any university in the US in 2013-14)
  
  
• monthly newsletter

To find out about all these goodies, you need to start by registering on their website - www.fulbright.co.uk

NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme - 2012 Intake

Final numbers are yet confirmed, but the NHS will be recruiting up to 150 posts covering all four specialisms (Finance, General Management, HR and Health Informatics).

The Scheme will open for applications on 31st Oct and close on 9th December at 10 a.m. Competition is likely to be very keen.

For more details and to apply, visit: http://www.isthenhsforme.co.uk/

You can also follow the Scheme's Twitter account: http://twitter.com/NHSGradScheme
and sign up to its Facebook page

Volunteers Needed at Carlisle Youthzone

Carlisle Youthzone are still keen to recruit volunteers to help with sessions for young people, especially the ones that take place over the weekend:-

• Friday Gym Club (3.30 - 6.00 pm)


• Senior Club (Friday evenings for 13 -21 year olds)


• Inclusion Project (for youngsters with disabilities on Saturday mornings)


• Junior Club (8 - 12 year olds on Saturday afternoons)


• Saturday Night Session

For more info and contact details, visit www.carlisleyouthzone.org

Thanks to Julia Mullarkey of Carlisle Youthzone for this update.

Chrysalis Cumbria

Based in Wigton, Chrysalis provide a range of services for adults with learning disabilities in Cumbria.

I understand Chrysalis are happy to receive speculative CVs from students who are interested in working or volunteering for them, and may have some current opportunities for relief support workers.

You can find out more about Chrysalis from their website http://www.chrysalis-cumbria.co.uk

Do Employment Agencies Use Shady Practices?

A recent encounter with a disgruntled job seeker (who understandably wishes to remain anonymous) has drawn attention to a number of websites that suggest that some employment agencies are prone to using some rather iffy practices. The key accusations levelled are: mentioning spurious vacancies, knocking down clients' salary expectations in order to increase profits and elliciting unnecessary information from clients to promote the agency's own interests.

A quick google leads to web pages such as http://www.contractoruk.com/agencies/recruitment_agency_tricks.html http://www.it-training-advice.com/it-recruitment-agency-tricks.html or http://www.employmentking.co.uk/job-information/recruitment-agencies-a-bit-trickly/ which tell of similar tricks, and a few more besides.

But is it all true? Are some agencies simply disreputable 'bad apples' that let the responsible ones down, or are all agencies prone to using certain 'tricks of the trade'?

A look at the above websites will at least give you a good idea of things to watch out for when dealing with agencies. But how does this all tally with your own experience of employment agencies?

Comments welcome...