They missed the bus…

…But we can still get our young people to a bright future

3 min read

If you grew up in the early 90s, you might have come across the rap song “I missed the bus” by the short braids/lock-sporting duo Kris Kross. The song narrates the pair’s despair at missing the school bus, and not knowing how to deal with the consequences. That song reminds me of the situation facing many of our young people today, especially those who find themselves in less well-off communities, or without the right parental or family support to guide them towards a life where they are gainfully and productively engaged after leaving compulsory education. With several (but not unknown) factors limiting the potential of our youths (such as child-poverty, undiagnosed disabilities, lack of access to appropriate learning support or resources, family challenges, socio-economic status), we seem to be leaving the future of our nation behind in our social, economic, and environmental development plans.

In its latest report on young people (aged 16-24) that are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that at least 1 out of every 13 in the 16-24 age bracket will be left behind, without education or work to help them. 290,000 of the affected young people identified as women, and an estimated 44% are looking for, or are available for work. However the ONS states that the number is at a record low at an estimated 631,000 of the 7.82m in that age bracket in the UK. While the falling numbers are a positive and welcome development, the truth is, they are a sad reminder that our society needs to do better. No young person should be left behind.

We now live in a world with more diverse paths to employment, formal professional careers, entrepreneurship, and financial independence. Nevertheless, success in any of these endeavours requires a broad range of personal and social skills, emotional intelligence, resilience, and mental wellbeing. You cannot learn all these by sitting behind a desk. Unfortunately, we still have youths in some sections of our society with very limited access to guidance that can point them in the right direction or give them the confidence to aspire to better themselves by pursuing any of these paths. We therefore need to equip and support our youths to develop and grow in these qualities, and the learning process must start from much early on.

It is important to recognise that different organisations across the UK are already doing notable work to address different aspects of youth development. UCAS, TheStudentRoom and similar organisations offer careers related information to students. Others such as the CIPD’s One million chances seek to provide access to employment and training, while initiatives such as the EY Foundation’s Smart Futures and Employability Workshops or Harrison Centre for Social Mobility target young people from less well-off backgrounds as part of efforts to improve their social mobility. However, as praiseworthy as these initiatives are, a lot more work is required to prepare our young ones for the ever-evolving world of work in an increasingly interconnected and competitive world. Most importantly, to deliver lasting change, we must put our youths at the heart and front of future initiatives. We must seek to hear, and listen to their voices, opinions, and expectations.

For a nation as wealthy as the UK, and one that sees itself, or wants to be recognised as a world leader, we must do better by our young people, and create a society where no one feels like or is made to believe they missed the bus to their future success.