What barriers affect young people gaining employment?

flutterbyuk25

Hey all

I am after a cheeky favour

I need to prepare information for a work thing on the barriers that affect young people from gaining employment in the UK.

Would anyone be so kind as to give me their opinions on what the barriers are? By young people I mean anyone under the age of 25 in this case.

I'll be eternally grateful!

x

kje_2

Some of the barriers are as old as the hills and existed 25 years ago when I left school :

1) less educated (look at the criticism of exam results every year)
2) less articulate
3) less hardworking
4) wanting to run before they can walk
5) not as mature for their age as everyone was x years ago
6) can't get up in the morning
7) poor manners
8) always on the internet/mobile phone
9) lack of motivation
10) no commitment to stay in the job
11) more interested in social life than work

etc, etc.

The normal stereotypes of the young.

sunday_girl

I would have thought the major one would be lack of experience.....most jobs seem to require ready-made experience these days and since apprenticeships are no longer offered in most areas young people must find it hard to get noticed, especially when employers have their pick of candidates in the current market.

Badger_Lady

I honestly think that most young people entering the workforce these days just have no idea what they're going for, and no confidence in their ambitions. I continuously watch educated, capable people, leave university and cross their fingers that they can get a job as receptionist in an Estate Agent's.

It's amazing how a career can blossom based on nothing but the ability to talk yourself up. Yes, it really is possible to be very successful without even having academic qualifications but young people don't believe that! They seem to have an idea that the world is structured so that those who achieved in school will be automatically rewarded as adults. To be fair, that's exactly what teachers drum into them.

My father used to have a theory that people who went to university (other than to study a specific profession like medicine or law etc) were automatically handicapped in their twenties when compared to others their own age. Simply because they'd become accustomed to doing as they were told, not making their own path in life. They would apply for a job because that's what you do. They'd answer questions in the interview just like they were taught to. And then they'd obediently carry out the work they were given.

Compare that to the one who's equally intelligent and has all the necessary skills but has been working since he was sixteen, has rent or a mortgage to pay and has a very clear idea of his ambitions and the job he needs to realise them.

Zazen999

When you say it's a work thing; do you mean you are doing some research and it will be published or used in a report?

millsymuttleylaugh

I'm 20 and I've been unemployed since October last year so I've got a pretty good idea about the barriers.

Firstly I think experience is a big one, it seems to be a viscious circle of needing the experience to get the job, but needing the job to get the experience, so not many people will employ you without the experience, but in that case you'll never get the experience.

I think employers have become very ignorant, I've applied for hundreds of jobs since I've been unemployed and I've had 3 interviews, only 2 of which had the decency to get in touch with me. Other than that bar one letter of rejection and a couple of instant email rejections from applications I've done online I've heard nothing.

I consider myself to be of pretty average intelligence, I've got good gcses and a couple of A levels but due to my personal circumstances I have no confidence so when it comes to that rare interview I tend to disppear into the background, especially in group interviews. For example I had a interview at Toys R Us, we had to hold a debate across the interview, which I contributed to on the prep but when it came to actually giving the debate two people dominated it and didn't allow other people to have their say and I felt reluctant to butt in.

I also believe there is a stigma attached to people under 25 of being a 'cant be arsed generation' because of certain stereotypes. But I don't think its fair to tar everyone with the same brush. In a society like ours today I think everyone should be considered on their own merits. The fact your under 25 doesn't mean your a lazy layabout with no interest in working, its the same as thinking everyone woman employed is going to be constantly getting pregnant and going on maternity - stereotypical.

I partially believe its the schools fault, they bring you up teaching you how GCSES are the crux of everything, then they slam higher education down your throat and make you believe that if you don't go to university you'll end up in a dead end job. But then ironically they don't encourage you to aim for any job in particular. Careers advisors like connexions, they don't help you find a job they try to bump you off with some training or send you back to college. But I think the job centre are also the same, fair enough they try to help you find a job more than organisations like Connexions, but I've been told if I've not found a job by said date then I'll be enrolled onto training - with gcses and alevels what training do I need to go on? Because you can guarentee it wouldn't be something useful to me.

I think young people themselves are a barrier to gaining employment though, unless your super confident you get told something and you believe it, I remember when I did sociology this was called self fufilling prophecy. "If you don't go to uni your crap" *Oh I'm crap*

We are not taught to go out and find a job the way older generations did, when they had no other choice than to leave school at 16 and go straight into work, more emphasise is made on going further in your education, countless times I've been told that if you have a degree you earn more and have more chance of getting a job. But to be honest the amount of success I've had with jobs I've applied for up to date even if on my CV if it said I had a degree I doubt it'd make much difference.

Companies aren't willing to train people up, they want people who are already trained to do the job and who they presume will be more reliable. I think its unfair to young people, but I also think its related to the media - teenagers portrayed as hoodie wearing, anti social binge drinkers, teenage females portrayed as slags getting pregnant to get a council house and having x amount of kids by the time they are 20.

I think the schools need to focus on the matters closer to the heart, not everything revolves around university, theres such a thing as career progression, they need to put the spotlight back on jobs not on taking education further because their not letting people make their own decisions you're shepherded down two lines, you either go to uni and are a success or you don't and your nothing.

Sorry for a rant here but this is a matter that affects me very personally.

Oldernotwiser

millsymuttleylaugh wrote: »

I've been told if I've not found a job by said date then I'll be enrolled onto training - with gcses and alevels what training do I need to go on? Because you can guarentee it wouldn't be something useful to me.
.

This is a good indication of a couple of barriers to employment; young people who think they know it all and who don't accept advice from people whose job it is to help them.

Badger_Lady

Slightly harshly put, Older, but I agree with the sentiment - GCSEs and A Levels are academic qualifications. Training could be, for example, confidence and presentation..? Something that would enable you to run a debate in an interview room!

melorablack

kje wrote: »

Some of the barriers are as old as the hills and existed 25 years ago when I left school :

1) less educated (look at the criticism of exam results every year)
2) less articulate
3) less hardworking
4) wanting to run before they can walk
5) not as mature for their age as everyone was x years ago
6) can't get up in the morning
7) poor manners
8) always on the internet/mobile phone
9) lack of motivation
10) no commitment to stay in the job
11) more interested in social life than work

etc, etc.

The normal stereotypes of the young.

I'd say the biggest barrier is that employers think all young people are like that and don't give them a chance to proove the stereotypes are wrong.

flutterbyuk25

Many thanks for all the replies so far

Zazen - I already work with young people getting them ready for employment and I need to make a presentation to colleagues about what the barriers are and I just wanted to check that other people thought the same as me and that there wasn't anything missing from the list I've made.

millysmuttleylaugh - thanks for your post and good luck in your job search

x

SarEl

Could I add - "unreasonable expectations" too?! I have frequently come across young people who, far from being under-confident, expect to walk from education into a good, well-paying, job that isn't boring or routine, but who have no skills or experience to bring to the role, and no idea that they have to do the slog before they advance!

I think that the problem with any kind of presentation like this is that young people are individuals - the barriers are just as unique to them as they are to older people. Slinging them all in a single stereotype and then "addressing that" is actually also a barrier!