Early intervention: a solution to the rise in Neets
UK Youth agrees with the Local Government Association’s assessment that early intervention should be prescribed to help subside the alarming rise in the number of Neets (not in education, employment or training) as stated in their report, Hidden talents: re-engaging young people, published yesterday. We are shocked to learn that the number of Neets is expected to reach 1 million by September. According to the report, the number of 16-24 year old young people who are Neet has already increased to 935,000 up from 743,000 in 2005. Even more surprising is the rise from the end of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 with an additional 72,000 young people becoming Neet.
We are already addressing this problem by intervening at early stages by working with at risk young people. Through our Youth Achievement Awards and our Youth Achievement Foundations, we give young people opportunities to succeed in alternative forms of education, gain accreditation to pursue further training and develop skills to enter employment. Economic strains are clearly playing a definite role in adding to these troubling numbers but more needs to be done to help those likely to fall out of education, employment and training before they reach this stage. The report calls for early intervention to help identify young people who are at risk of becoming Neet before they drop out of the system and proposes councils to be allowed to fund employment and training projects for young people against projected future benefit savings.
You can read the full report here.
Tags: education, employment, LGA, neet, training, UK Youth links, young people, Youth Achievement Awards
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