An insight into employment statistics: The McKinsey report

By: Nicola Hughes

Communications Leader

Thursday 23 January 2014

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At first glance the ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures for employment, covering the last three months, are encouraging, showing a drop of 39,000 in the number of 16 – 24 year olds out of work in the UK. However if we look at the figures for the last twelve months they have in fact risen from 894,000 to 902,000.

Meanwhile, McKinsey & Company’s recently published report Education to employment: Getting Europe’s youth into work (January 2014) claims that youth unemployment is nothing new and has been as high as triple the rate of general unemployment in Europe for the last 20 years.

The report, whilst acknowledging the lack of appropriate jobs is part of the issue, reports that it is the shortage of skills amongst European young people that is holding them back. Of the 2,600 employers they surveyed 27% reported that they had entry level vacancies that had been open for year because they could not find candidates with the right skills.

This is in contrast to the 74% of education providers surveyed (700) across Europe who were confident that the young people they had trained had the skills they needed to equip them for work. Young people themselves were more cautious with only 38% (of the 5,300 polled) saying they felt they were ready for work.

The REED NCFE Partnership is one example of how we can close this gap between learning and work. They deliver real jobs, engaging with students developing their core skills such as labour market awareness, CV and interview techniques. Coupled with a range of next generation employability qualifications that help young people identify vacancies, promote themselves and maximise their chances of success these students are 3 times more likely to succeed.

If we focus on employability as well as vocational skills we will give our young people the best chance to secure employment and a better future.

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