While layoffs around the world have cast a net of uncertainty and instability as companies embrace the artificial intelligence takeover, the United Kingdom government laid out its plans to create thousands of new jobs to curb the youth unemployment crisis. Around 40 retail giants in the country have since joined the broader government initiative, under the newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham, to create thousands of job roles for people not in employment or education (NEET) before the next election due in 2029.
At a time when AI’s advancement has specifically threatened the existence of entry-level jobs, increasingly subjecting them to the risk of automation, the UK’s major decision in the jobs scene has emerged as a breath of fresh air. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are also set to launch a new voluntary work placement program for youth aged 18-24, paving the way for them to get permanent retail jobs in the future.
The major development comes as the Office for National Statistics’ latest figures showed that nearly a million people, aged 16 to 24, were classified as NEET between April and June. The figures are relatively down from 1.01 million (January to March), the highest since 2013.
Having started putting together a review into the crisis, former Cabinet Minister Alan Milburn warned earlier that these numbers could soar past 1.25 million over the next five years.
UK PM issues statement on new programs set to create jobs for youth
Andy Burnham set out “on a mission” to curb the number of jobless young people from the word go since he became the new prime minister on July 20, post Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation.
Having previously branded these changes “long overdue,” he recently highlighted in a statement announcing the new programs that far too many members of the youth community have been trapped in a vicious cycle that has long been demanded: “they need experience to get a job and need a job to get experience.” Burnham asserted that the system had consequently left them “stuck while the world of work drifts further out of reach.”
On July 28, he also laid out that “fundamental changes to the education system” in the UK would now allow 14-year-olds to get early access to technical education, skills training, work experience and connections with employers. The official UK government statement put out at the time highlighted that Burnham was determined to put “technical education on an equal footing with the traditional academic path,” while ensuring that there are “no dead ends” for the youth coming out of the education system.
The changes introduced at the time encouraged schools, colleges, mayors, local leaders, and employers to work together to create clear routes into “good, skilled jobs in the area.”
“For too long in this country, students have been told that you must take the academic path to do well and to be respected. The whole school system has been built around it, and that has let down young people seeking technical qualifications,” Burnham said shortly after his appointment, adding that fixing the youth unemployment crisis in the UK would require a “major shake-up.”
All we know about the new UK jobs scheme
More than 40 retailers have partnered with the UK government to boost youth employment over the next three years by offering NEETs aged 18-24 placements of two to four weeks to gain “the skills and confidence needed to take their first step into work.”
According to UK news outlets The Guardian and The Independent, the list of businesses participating in the initiative known as ‘Opening Shift’ includes Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Tesco, JD Sports, Morrisons, Primark, John Lewis Partnership, Costa Coffee, Greggs, New Look, Wickes and Currys, among others. Back in May, Marc Bolland, who served as CEO of Marks & Spencer and the supermarket giant Morrisons in the past, was appointed as a government jobs advisor to tackle the UK youth unemployment crisis.
In addition to pledging over 11,000 placements initially, these retailers will offer NEETs an interview at the end of the placement period, with the aim of permanently employing as many young candidates as possible.
Since the placements program is part of the larger government efforts to create 100,000 jobs by 2029, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden affirmed the scheme would provide young people with “huge benefits.”
While speaking during a visit to John Lewis in London’s Oxford Street, the government official said, “They are quite often caught in a bind of no experience, no job. About 60% of Neets have never had a job and this cuts through that,” as quoted by The Independent. He also expressed hopes of expanding the new jobs scheme beyond the retail sector, as the government takes steps to challenge the situation “where 1 million young people are not engaged in productive economic activity.”
Meanwhile, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson hailed retail’s efforts to “rescue” tens of thousands of young people who may be “struggling to take their first step on the career ladder.”
“Too many are trapped in a no experience, no job doom loop. High-quality work experience is essential to fix this problem and Opening Shift is a major contribution to delivering it,” she added.