Graduates have a hard enough time as it is without misleading figures generating the impression that today's youths are a 'lost generation'. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have said that the statistic of 1 in 5, 16-25 year olds falling into the unemployment category is misleading.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has presented figures that disregard the 30% of young people who are still in full-time education, yet are classed as unemployed. Since the number of young people remaining in full-time education has increased over the years, the percentage of individuals' actively seeking work, in this age range, has decreased; thereby distorting the figures, which has the knock on effect of distorting public perception of youth unemployment. In fact, according to the CIPD the more accurate figure of 1 in 8, 16-25 are unemployed which is "probably close to the 9%-10% rate observed prior to the recession and likely to persist even when the demand for labour eventually picks up," said Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser, CIPD.
These misleading figures do not inspire confidence in the graduate job market and leave graduates feeling apathetic about their future prospects. When hearing that 20% of your cohort are unable to secure jobs, the tedious process of filling in graduate application forms does not sound appealing, especially when there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
However, despite the re-evaluation of these figures youth employment is still a serious issue. Dr Philpott continues, "especially worrying in this respect is the observation that core youth unemployment is not only far worse than desirable but itself appears to have had been getting worse for a few years prior to the recession, suggesting that either the employability of the core youth jobless is deficient and/or that the cost of employing them is too high relative to their labour market value."
There is an underlying feeling from students that if they remain in full-time education, they can put off the inevitable pursuit of battling for a graduate job. Therefore, more young people choose to enter Higher Education since it is the next logical step, rather than being the right decision. Philpott advocates reviewing the national minimum wage on youth employment and a need for "faster progression on vocational skills". It seems that there needs to be more of an initiative towards vocational courses, increasing youth employment and retain the value of degrees, rather than allowing them to become a commodity held by everyone.
Jenni, GRB Journalist
