Posts Tagged ‘recession’
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Lost Generation? David Blanchflower warns of the ‘lull before the storm’
At a special lecture this week, organised by v, former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Member, Professor David Blanchflower, highlighted to a packed auditorium at the RSA, the dangers of youth unemployment for society and the long term negative impact on a young person’s life chances.And the panellists, including; Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury; David Willetts MP, Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills; Miles Templeman, Director-General of the Institute of Directors and Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students, agreed. Willetts acknowledging, ‘young people are the clear victims in this recession’.
With youth unemployment nudging one million people, Blanchflower warned that more needs to be done to support young people, stressing that, ‘we have to deal with this situation now because the costs of not dealing with it are even more serious.’
v’s Chief Executive Terry Ryall supported this analysis, saying, ‘we know from our work with 100,000s of young people that the recession is hitting them hard’.
v used the special event to call for funding and cross party political support to implement a unified national public service scheme, building on the success of our full-time volunteering programme ‘vtalent year’. Targeted at the most disadvantaged and marginalised – who will be the most vulnerable when the job market recovers – such a scheme could make a significant impact on the lives of young people as well as all the issues surrounding youth unemployment.
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Young people: Living online?
Recent stories regarding young people’s use of the internet and social media have raised an interesting question mark on an assumed trend; that young people live online.
First came the research note into young people’s media habits wrote by a 15 year-old intern at Morgan Stanley. The note, which describes his friends’ declining social media habits ended up on the front page of the Financial Times and caused a stir with City investors and media analysts alike.
And although it received a bashing on the blogs for being the views of one young guy, the launch of Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2009 seemed to back up part of the note by reporting that in the 15-24 age group, use of social networking sites declined from 55 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 50 per cent in 2009. This contrasts with Ofcom’s findings in 2006 which highlighted social media as the next big thing for 15-24 year-olds.
Gerry Greaney/Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
So what are young people doing online?
There is of course lots of research to quote in answering that question, but most of it is contradictory.
One interesting answer comes from Bill Wasik, a senior editor at Harper’s and the author of “And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture.” Wasik believes that as ‘old-model’ opportunities disappear in the real world; jobs, internships and grants, young creatives are turning to the Bright Lights, Big Internet to get their big break. Suggesting the growth of much more entrepreneurial and creative uses for the web when the real world is letting them down.
On life online and keeping creativity alive in the recession, check out ‘A little rant about ‘the lost generation’.
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Calling all employers!
The great and the good of business and charities are all ‘Backing Young Britain’. Business in the Community, the Institute of Directors and the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Princes Trust are all backing the government’s campaign to get businesses to support young people through the recession. Employers across all sectors are being asked to offer work placements internships, apprenticeships and jobs as well as allowing staff to volunteer.
It is great that employers play their part in making sure young people are not left floundering during the recession. But are we missing a trick here? If reports from volunteering organisations are anything to go by (contrasting with recent Citizenship Survey findings), young people are turning to volunteering in increasing volumes. As well as helping communities, they are gaining an incredible amount of skills and experience while doing so. Employers can do more to make sure that experience is valued as much as work experience and internships.
When the recovery eventually starts and new jobs emerge young people need to be given the support and incentives to make the most of all that they give and gain through volunteering when they move into employment. Employers need to be more vocal about valuing volunteering experience so that young people make the link between volunteering and employability.
A survey commissioned by v earlier this year showed that almost half (49%) of employers felt that volunteering experience is relevant when considering a job application. But what about the other half? And does this translate into their recruitment practices? Employer recognition for volunteering will help young people to see even more of the knock-on benefits of spending time helping others while the economy has gone to pot.
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Citizenship Survey
We’ve been waiting in anticipation for the annual release of the Citizenship Survey. Released today, the data provides a robust picture of volunteering rates in England.
Whilst the data indicates overall volunteering rates largely remain static for formal volunteering, and show a slight decrease in informal volunteering, we’ve been particularly interested in looking at the figures for 16 – 25 years age group. Regular formal volunteering levels (once a month) have risen from 23 per cent in 2007/08 to 24 per cent in 2008/09. Regular informal volunteering rates remains highest for both 16 – 25 and 65 – 74 years groups (38 per cent) compared to all other age groups.
There will be other factors affecting youth volunteering rates. I’m particularly interested to see whether rising youth unemployment figures we might lead to a renewed interest from young people in volunteering. Research published by the Institute of Volunteering Research (IVR) in April 2009 reported an 87 per cent increase in enquires to Volunteer Centres in the last six months. v’s research report, Young people speak out: attitudes to and perceptions of full-time volunteering, was released last month and shows that young people are more likely to consider volunteering as it offers them a clear route through the recession.
On the back of the latest unemployment figures showing almost a million young people in the UK are currently unemployed; Newsnight brought together the Employment Minister, Jim Knight MP with two young people who are finding it difficult to get a job. Professor David Blanchflower and Shaun Bailey (MyGeneration) provided comment and gloomy predications on what lies ahead for young people. It’s prompted a lot of discussion on the Newsnight blog.
Many young people recognise that volunteering can help them to accessing relevant work experience and training, and develop essential life skills. I’d be really interested to hear from any organisations conducting research looking youth volunteering rates as a response to the recession.
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Is volunteering a lifeline for young people hit by the recession?
Last week, The Prince’s Trust warned that young people will be among the hardest hit by the recession due to rising unemployment. Today, v publishes new research showing that many young people believe volunteering could offer a lifeline.
‘Young People Speak Out – Attitudes to and Perceptions of Full-Time Volunteering’ shows that over 2 million young people– around 3 in 10 – might consider volunteering on a full-time basis, with more than half agreeing that young people will be more likely to volunteer if rates of unemployment continue to go up.
41% of young people said they would be encouraged to consider volunteering full time if they could gain skills and experience related to work or their future career, and 31% would be encouraged to consider volunteering full time if it was related to their job or study.
The research is backed by statistics for v‘s website, vinspired.com, which show an increase in demand for volunteering opportunities. Online applications to get involved in volunteering have increased by 183% and unique visits to vinspired.com are up by 77%.
Today, v is hosting round table discussions with young people, policy makers, politicians and charities to discuss how best to deal with this growing appetite for volunteering. But what do you think? Is full-time volunteering the way into employment for the recession’s “lost generation”?
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