Almost a million people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are classified as NEET, not in education, employment, or training. The unemployment rate has risen to 5% in the three months to March. Amazon’s UK country manager says the narrative that young people lack motivation, resilience, or grit does not match what managers see in warehouses. He argues that young people should not be blamed and that the education system is no longer producing people ready for work. Amazon employs 75,000 people across about 100 UK sites, with many recruited directly from school, college, or unemployment. Reduced entry-level opportunities in hospitality, retail, and graduate schemes further limit pathways into work.
"“We have to stop blaming young people,” he said, arguing that the education system is no longer “producing young people who are ready for work”. Coming from the man who runs an operation employing 75,000 people across roughly 100 UK sites - half of them recruited straight out of school, college or unemployment - the intervention will sting employers who have spent the past 18 months grumbling about a “soft” younger workforce."
"Almost a million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK are now classified as NEET - not in education, employment or training - a figure that has hovered uncomfortably close to seven-figure territory for more than a year, according to the Office for National Statistics. At the same time, the headline unemployment rate ticked up to 5 per cent in the three months to March, from 4.9 per cent a month earlier."
"For SME owners, who account for the lion's share of first jobs in Britain, the picture is grimmer still. Hospitality has retrenched, graduate schemes have thinned and entry-level vacancies in retail have collapsed, leaving fewer of the rungs school leavers traditionally use to climb into work. Business Matters has tracked the trend through the year, including in our recent report on how the NEET rate is closing in on the one-million mark."
Read at Business Matters
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