The Challenges Facing Young People on their Journey to Work: Insights from the 2022 Youth Voice Census
Right now there are close to one million young people who are not in full time education or employment. The barriers facing young people seeking employment are complex and challenging, there are both systemic and individual issues that are holding young people back from progressing into work.
To understand how we better support young people on their journey to work we must listen to what young people are telling us about the issues they are facing and the support they need.
Youth Voice Census
Youth Employment UK’s annual Youth Voice Census gives young people the opportunity to share where they are at right now, how they feel about who they are, where they live and how they are feeling about their future. The Youth Voice Census 2022 was completed by over 4,000 young people aged 11-30 and tells us a story of how young people are feeling about their journey to work.
What are the challenges?
The Youth Voice Census 2022 shows us that young people are struggling more than ever before in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers to progress. In the most part the findings are the result of the systems around young people struggling under pressure or in some cases failing altogether.
Most frustrating for young people is that the things holding them back are things out of their control. In addition the very essence of who they are, their gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, socio-economic group and many other factors appear to play a part in what they have access to, their aspirations and their direct access to quality work.
The Youth Voice Census 2022 key findings were:
Mental Health Emergency
Difference is the disadvantage
Unprepared for work
Quality of work
Mental Health Emergency
Young people are in a mental health emergency. This year we heard, more than ever before, that young people’s mental health, feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and loneliness were holding them back. Young people are feeling debilitated by the mental health challenges they are experiencing, and cannot get the help they need. When young people look at the world around them they are feeling overwhelmed by uncertainty. The enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s sense of connection and belonging alongside political and economic uncertainty at home and abroad are leaving young people worried and anxious about the future.
At every age and stage we heard that anxiety and mental ill health was the biggest barrier that young people faced when looking for work, 51% of young people looking for work thought their anxiety was the biggest barrier to accessing work.
We are also seeing the effects of COVID-19 staying with young people in education, with 52% of those in education feeling that their education had been disrupted ‘a lot’ or a ‘great deal’ in the past twelve months.
Difference is the disadvantage
Being young was seen as a disadvantage by all respondents but young people with protected characteristics, carers and care leavers feel that their ‘difference’ is a further disadvantage. Young people on free school meals, or those who are Black, Asian or of an ethnic minority, with disabilities or LGBTQ+ face even more barriers in the systems around them than their peers.
This difference was felt in all aspects of their lives, young people with protected characteristics feel less safe in their local areas, less welcome in school, less supported in education and had lower self-belief and self-confidence scores too.
Unprepared for the future
Young people do not feel that they are being prepared for the world outside of education, they aren't confident that they have the skills and tools needed to be able to access work.
We see that young people in school, those looking for work and those currently in work would all like more support in understanding their skills, better tools to apply and secure work and would like to have more access to regular and varied work experience and experiences of the workplace.
Only 28.7% think employers are supportive of hiring young people and only 14.2% of respondents were confident or very confident that there are quality jobs available in their local area.
Young people’s confidence in the processes of applying for work is also down this year.
44.6% think they could write a CV
38.7% could prepare for assessment centres
46.9% could prepare for an interview
41.5% feel confident they are prepared to start employment
Quality of work
We know that the things young people value in an employer and see as good quality work are the same things we all value. Young people want to be paid fairly for the work they do, have access to training and development opportunities and work for an employer with a good reputation for looking after their younger workers.
However, young people do not feel that they can access good quality work where they live. We have heard through focus groups with young people that travel, location and accessibility of quality work locally is leaving many young people feeling locked out of finding the good quality employment they want. Opportunities for apprenticeships, T-Levels and other qualifications are not distributed evenly across the country and poor public transport presents a further barrier for young people progressing in their journey to work.
We know the importance and value of good quality work, when young people are in good quality work they can be themselves, they believe they are building useful skills for the future and they are happy in their job.
What needs to be done?
We must recognise the challenges that young people are facing and work collectively to address these barriers and ensure that young people are feeling supported on their journey to work. As we move into a period of economic uncertainty when we know from previous recessions that young people feel the worst impacts of economic downturns and the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on young people are still yet to be seen, it is imperative that supporting young people through their journey to work becomes our priority.
There is no easy fix to the complex challenges of the youth employment and education landscapes, however there are some clear issues which need to be prioritised if we are to better support our young people right now.
Improve the mental health support available to young people, no matter what age or stage they are at.
Work towards providing a young person’s guarantee, so that all young people have access to opportunities to be either earning or learning.
Work collaboratively to develop a joined up approach to the issues young people face, bringing together stakeholders from education, government, the third sector and employers to engage in an open dialogue and forge partnerships to create practical solutions which support young people.
As key stakeholders in young people’s journeys to employment the Higher Education sector should reflect on the experiences and voices of young people to ensure that the services it provides meets the needs of where young people are today. Prioritising the keys issues outlined above provide a starting point for supporting young people’s employability in the current climate.
About the author
Joshua Knight is the Senior Policy and Research Lead at Youth Employment UK, his work includes supporting the annual Youth Voice Census and working with key stakeholders and policy makers to develop insights into the barriers facing young people on their journey to work. Josh also leads Youth Employment UK’s responses to government consultations on policy related to youth employment, ensuring the voice of young people is heard by decision makers. Josh also leads the work of Youth Employment UK as the secretariat to the APPG for Youth Employment, which has produced a number of inquiry reports which have been presented to government ministers.
