By Debra Tracy, Director, Direct Partners Training Provider
Youth employment is back at the top of the political agenda. The Guardian recently reported that UK ministers are drawing up plans to scrap a key disability benefit for under-25s and replace it with a multibillion-pound package of support to help young people into work.
It follows a government-commissioned review by Alan Milburn into youth unemployment, which is due to publish its final recommendations this autumn.
Whatever your view on welfare reform, the debate keeps returning to the same point. Benefits policy can only do so much. Young people need real jobs and real training, and those can only come from employers.
The Numbers Behind the Headlines
In January to March this year, more than one million 16 to 24 year olds in the UK were not in education, employment or training. That’s the first time the figure has gone above a million since 2013. Youth unemployment reached 16.4% in May to July, up from 14.3% a year earlier.
In Scotland our overall unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in May to July, up 1.7 percentage points on the year and now above the UK rate. Young people have consistently had a higher unemployment rate than any other age group.
The Milburn review’s interim report is even more telling. Six in ten young people classed as NEET have never had a job, compared with four in ten in 2005. Yet 84% of those surveyed said they want work or training.
The appetite is there but the opportunities are not.
The First Rung Is Disappearing
Part of the problem is that entry-level roles are getting harder to find. In a Work Foundation survey published in August, 36% of UK employers said they had cut the number of entry-level jobs over the past year.
Many larger firms said AI and automation had played a part. Graduate vacancies have also fallen sharply, with one jobs platform recording almost 46% fewer in July than a year earlier.
It’s easy to see why. If software can draft the report or tidy the spreadsheet, why hire a junior to do it? But there’s a longer-term cost, today’s junior staff are tomorrow’s team leaders and specialists. A business that stops bringing in young people now may struggle to find experienced people in five or ten years’ time. ScotlandIS has made a similar point about the tech sector. It warned that if junior staff can’t build the skills to move up into mid-level roles, there will be fewer entry-level positions for the next generation.
Young People Are Already Using AI. Few Are Being Taught It.
Here’s what many employers miss, young people aren’t waiting for permission to use AI. In a survey this summer, 81% of Gen Z workers said they had taught themselves AI skills through social media, and 42% said they use AI at work without their employer knowing. The same research found that 37% of UK workers now see AI knowledge listed as a requirement for entry-level roles.
That curiosity is a real asset, but on its own it isn’t enough. AI is only as good as the data behind it. Getting an answer from a chatbot is very different from knowing whether the data underneath is accurate, whether the output can be trusted, and how to handle customer information responsibly.
This is where an apprenticeship is a good idea. A young person working towards a qualification in Data Analytics or Digital Marketing learns those foundations properly, using your real business data and real problems, with a mentor alongside them. They bring energy and confidence with new tools and your experienced staff bring context and judgement.
Put the two together and you have a practical, low-risk way to move your digital plans forward.
Why One Apprentice Makes a Difference
Employers who already take on Modern Apprentices tend to see the benefits. In Skills Development Scotland research, 83% of apprentice employers reported improved productivity, 79% saw better staff morale and 73% pointed to greater staff retention. Separate SDS analysis found that businesses with a higher share of apprentices in their workforce tended to be more productive.
The commitment is also more manageable than many people assume. Apprenticeships in Scotland are devolved and run through Skills Development Scotland, and training for eligible apprentices is funded. Employers also pay no employer National Insurance on the earnings of apprentices under 25.
It’s also about who you’re giving a chance to, many young people learn best by doing rather than sitting in a classroom. An apprenticeship lets them earn while they learn, find out what they’re good at, and build a career in a real workplace. For a lot of them, the only thing missing is an employer willing to give them a start.
One Role, One Mentor, One Young Person
Taking on an apprentice doesn’t need to mean a big recruitment drive. For most businesses it can start with a single role, ideally in an area where you already know you need more digital or data capability.
It benefits the people you already have, too. Mentoring an apprentice is a development opportunity for an existing employee. It builds leadership skills, and it often sharpens the mentor’s own understanding of the tools and data the apprentice is learning.
The Milburn review found that businesses are overwhelmingly keen to employ young people from their own area. The goodwill is there. For many employers, the next step is smaller than they think.
A Small Step That Adds Up
The welfare debate at Westminster will run for months. Whatever the outcome, no change to benefits can do what a first job does: give a young person skills, confidence and a reason to believe in their future.
If every Scottish employer who could take on one apprentice did so, the difference would be felt in every community.
Direct Partners is an award-winning training provider based in Edinburgh, delivering SDS-funded tech qualifications across Scotland. To find out more or discuss a partnership, visit directpartners.co.uk or call 0131 600 0820.
