kle youth unemployment as a top priority. Young people aged 18 to 24 are now part of the fastest growing age group without work and the country is at serious risk of creating a lost generation. Figures released last month by the Office for National Statistics revealed that up to 1 million young people across the UK are now jobless.
However, plugging large quantities of cash into high profile schemes is not necessarily the answer to unlocking growth and creating jobs – this comes from confident and creative engagement with employers, and it is at a local level where this can happen.
The Youth Contract marks an important start for raising awareness of the seriousness of the problem, but fails to factor in how local government can help to deliver results.
Councils sit at the very heart of their local community and as a result they have an unparalleled overview of local business and the needs of their area. This enables them to play a central role in helping to foster local growth by targeting resources to meet local needs.
The recent investment into local high streets pledged by the government in response to the Mary Portas review is an excellent example of local and central government working in partnership to stimulate growth and regeneration. A similar approach should be applied to tackling youth unemployment if things are to change.
The onus must be on local authorities to become more creative about how they engage with local employers to foster opportunities for work. Councils need to play a bigger part in both supporting and galvanising local employers to create more jobs.
Westminster currently generates 2% of countrywide GDP, so our businesses are well placed to help stimulate job growth, particularly for young people looking for work.
Last month, Westminster council launched a programme to create 2,012 apprenticeship and employment opportunities for local young people before the end of the year. It brought together 170 employers from different sectors, including catering, performing arts, technology and the charity sector. We have also committed £1m to a work and skills board to train young people for work.
Councils must seek to create an environment in which young people can thrive, and we are constantly looking for new ways to achieve this; for example, we are currently looking at bringing in travel concessions for 18- to 24-year-olds to improve transport access to job interviews across London.
Getting councils to engage with local employers is the key to making the Youth Contract and other similar schemes work – it is our collective responsibility to prevent a lost generation of young people spending a life on benefits.
Councillor Daniel Astaire, Westminster council’s cabinet member for business
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