Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that there are now almost one million people under the age of 25 out of work and there are 2.57 million people overall out of work. Fewer than a quarter of 16-17 year-olds have jobs leading papers like The Guardian to start referring to the young people of today as the 'Bad Luck Generation'.
On top of this, careers advice services in schools are undergoing serious cuts, the Connexions centre which catered for the 16-19 age range are being closed en masse and Jobcentres have been denoted as an inefficient way for professionals to find work.
By next spring, however, two new national careers services are being launched in England and Wales, to try and counter-act the lack of careers advice in the UK. These services will exist in the form of websites, presumably because running a website is cheaper and easier for the government than hiring trained and experienced advisers is.
Despite the backlash against electronic careers advice, cheaper doesn't necessarily mean less effective, and many people have applauded the new services. Jonathan Clark of Skills Development Scotland stated that he believes that the new websites will be useful when trying to understand our workplace, which has become so much more complicated and varied, 'the notion that one person could be a gateway to all the opportunities in the work of work is not very realistic any more', he says, justifying why he believes the online careers advice will be more efficient that seeing a careers advisor. Clark went on to explain that those who will benefit mostly from the new web portals will be self-motivated, with the personal skills and resilience to enjoy the experience of exploring and planning their career and graduate job direction.
Therefore, despite the backlash, it is important not to write off these new online careers services when they are launched in spring, and at least test them out.
Kate, GRB Journalist
