We’ve just published a blog about Long Term Unemployment and today Chris Howard Head of Marketing at Recruitment & Employment Confederation has written a guest blog for us with his thoughts from the Online Recruitment Conference and the session on youth unemployment.
Last week I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Enhance Media’s 13th annual Online Recruitment Conference and whilst taking in some of the excellent discussions from organisations like Twitter, LinkedIn, Indeed or Google, there was a particular session that I found interesting.
The session in question was from the National Programme Manager for NHS Employers – Elizabeth Eddy – and was titled Talent for Care – changing behaviours of 1,000 line managers and was geared towards how Liz and her team need a new approach to change the mindset of their employees. Liz and her team needed a change so that hiring managers viewed younger talent as a genuine options for the placement of positions that perhaps might not be normally considered.
Liz cited one example of a young girl who had been looking after a parent. This person had all of the experience and knowledge of somebody who could be a professional carer because she had been doing the job anyway from a young age. So the key was to find this type of person, capture them at a young age and give them the opportunity to use those skills in a professional capacity. Liz talked about the apprenticeship programme that the NHS have in place and gave other examples of how young people just like the one she gave in her example, are waiting to be given an opportunity.
It was good to see an example of an employer embracing the need for skills rather than academic excellence. As Liz said during the conference “we define people by what they are not (Not in Education, Employment or Training – NEETs) and we should be more positive and provide work experience from an earlier age”. Liz then went on to talk about how the NHS had recruited over 10,000 apprentices in the North West and it struck a chord with me when she said “employing young people is a ‘win-win’ for everyone, but they need to be given a chance”.
This resonated with me because it related to something that we have worked on for some years now at the REC. Since the development of our Youth Employment Taskforce (chaired by Baroness Prosser) in 2010, the REC has been working with recruiters, employers and other stakeholders, to really champion the value of getting young people into work.
It was great to hear that the NHS are recruiting many apprentices and young people, but from an agency side I also think that we as an industry have a role to play. As the front line for employment for thousands of people every week, the recruitment industry can play its part in championing youth employment. Our Youth Employment Taskforce has evolved since its launch and a Youth Employment Charter has been developed for recruiters to get involved. What do you have to do to be part of it? Commit to talking to young people about the world of work. Champion the importance of developing the right skills and behaviours that employers want to see when hiring. Visit schools, colleges and universities to deliver advice, guidance and support for getting young people into work.
The Youth Employment Charter is a public declaration by agencies that they will commit to championing the employment of the next generation of workers – giving them a chance, just as Liz said in her speech.
There are always initiatives, events and different ways in which you can be part of the campaign to get young people into employment through the Youth Employment Charter, so if you’d like to know more – https://www.rec.uk.com/news-and-policy/policy-and-campaigns/youth-employment-and-skills – or please feel free to get in touch with the REC directly and speak to our Policy team on what you could be doing.
We’ve also got an event taking place at our head office on 19th February which looks at tackling issues around Youth Employment. It’s being run by our Head of Policy, Kate Shoesmith, so if you’re interested (there are limited places available) then drop Kate a note at kate.shoesmith@rec.uk.com.
