Two thirds of young people say Covid-19 has made it harder to find decent jobs

New research published today by the Institute for Employment Studies details the struggle that young jobseekers are facing in the post-lockdown labour market.  Young people were among the hardest hit groups in the Covid-19 crisis, seeing the largest falls in employment, disruption to education and continued negative impacts on their mental health, aspirations and future prospects.

• The survey found that three quarters of young people are struggling with stress at work, 57 per cent agree that their mental health has had an impact on their ability to access good quality work and over a third, 36 per cent, reference their physical health having a similar impact on their ability to access good work.
• There are many more young people (approximately +35 to +45 per cent) reporting poor working conditions after the pandemic compared to before Covid-19 in respect of their work environment, job security, number of hours, impact on mental and physical health, and work-life balance.
• 62 per cent of young people feel that the pandemic has had a negative effect on their confidence and made it harder to find decent work. 46 per cent say it has negatively affected how they value the quality of work.
• Nearly a quarter of young people reported experiences of discrimination at work (22 per cent), with 18 per cent experiencing bullying and 16 per cent experiencing harassment.
• Young people expressed that health conditions as well as disabilities were barriers both in terms of confidence and motivation, and in terms of employer attitudes.
• Young people felt careers services were often under-resourced, with a single adviser for a large number of students or short sessions which felt rushed and could not address the specific needs of students.
• There is a keen interest to learn more about vocational routes – over a third of young people thought support accessed through vocational routes such as apprenticeships (42 per cent) and traineeships (33 per cent) was very useful.

The report, ‘Not just any jobs, good jobs!’ forms part of the forthcoming Health Foundation’s ‘Young People’s Future Health Inquiry’ and draws together findings from interviews with 1,345 young people across the four UK nations. It takes a youth-centred approach to explore young people’s perspectives on what good quality work and support mean to them, the enablers and barriers they encounter, the quality of their experiences in work, and the impact of the pandemic on their perceptions and experiences of work.

Report author Cristiana Orlando said: “As we emerge from the pandemic, it is essential that the recovery has good and fair work for young people at its heart.

“Two thirds of young people feel less confident about accessing good quality work, around half now place less value on the quality of work and they are also reporting worsened working conditions after Covid.

“This sits alongside findings showing over half feel their mental health impacts their ability to access good quality work, and a third say so about their physical health.

“These findings highlight a real risk that the pre-pandemic trend of the worsening quality of youth employment and challenges in accessing good jobs will become further entrenched; and it is the duty of those supporting them, from government, to education, employers, and support services to provide it.”

The report sets out five key areas for government, education, employers and employment services to support young people’s jobs and skills.

Creating good quality training and work opportunities needs to be prioritised, the report argues.
It claims that young people from all backgrounds and in all sectors of work have a right to good quality work, and that this can be achieved thorough strengthening employment regulation, investing in good quality jobs (including through levelling up and net zero transition plans), supporting a culture shift among employers and making ‘best practice’ central to partnership approaches.

It also outlined are “five areas for action” to support young people entering work, including: Improving the quality of careers guidance and support, investing in enhanced forms of support, extending eligibility for the DWP Youth Offer, repurposing and promoting national careers service offers and building systematic education-business engagement.

It said that as people aged 17 and 18 still show a relatively high propensity to leave education without securing a high-quality destination, they must be better supported in transitioning to work, by developing an enhanced 16-18 support offer, improving access to vocational routes and increasing young people’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities.

The report also says that local areas are best placed to understand the socio-economic, labour market, educational, and partnership context in the places where young people live – and can provide tailored and individualised support as a result. They should therefore play a key role in developing strategies for better access to good quality youth employment.  There are three areas of action to support this: Supporting local businesses to employ young people, supporting young people to enter local businesses and investing in local transport and digital infrastructure.

They also said that is is important for employers to improving mental health support and literacy in order to help young people.