The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at its recent policy meeting after a series of increases, reflecting falling inflation and weakening growth prospects.

Interest rates remain unchanged but at a 15-year high.

Inflation falling but still high.

Labour Market starting to cool – ONS data for May to July 2023 compared with the previous three-month period (February to April) showed that:

• The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 4.3%
• The proportion of those aged 16 to 64 in work decreased from 76.0% to 75.5%
• The number of job vacancies continued to decline from past very high levels.
• A weaker labour market could lead to slowing wage growth and less risk of inflation.

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Rethinking traditional criteria – unconventional paths to entry-level roles

In this webinar, our expert panellists will delve how they can make their hiring practices as open, inclusive, and effective as possible to ensure they get the best staff from the widest talent pools. By attending, you will learn how to harness the potential of individuals who may not fit the traditional mould but possess skills and qualities that can enhance your organisation.

The panellists will cover:

1. Strategies for hiring based on attitude, aptitude and potential rather than previous results and qualifications
2. The value of trying new ways of getting to know candidates that bypass CVs, as they are often not fit for purpose during the early careers phase
3. Practical tips for where to look to diversify talent pools and bring new energy into your organisation.

Sign up here.

Youth unemployment risks diminishing the potential of young people and denting their long-term job prospects. But it could also be costing the economy billions in lost GDP.

According to new calculations from the Youth Employment Group (YEG), reducing the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to the same levels as the Netherlands could generate £69 billion in GDP.

More than 790,000 young people are currently NEET, a 23% rise over the last two years [2]. This equates to 12.5% of all British young people across the UK, a figure that rises to 13.8% when looking at England alone. The YEG points to The Netherlands, the country boasting the lowest figure in the OECD (4.4%) [3], as the example to follow. In a bid to reduce unemployment and protect the life chances of young people, the YEG has today
launched the “Young Person’s Guarantee”. If adopted by policymakers in England, young people under the age of 25 will receive support to access employment, training, or education within four months of leaving employment or formal education.

Read the joint letter to the Prime Minister, note – signed by MtW.

Read more here.

Report Entry and Retention in the Labour Market: Narratives and Solutions for Neet and Care Leaver Employment Support

What are the barriers to employment for young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or who have experience of care?

What works best to support them? In partnership with the Education Development Trust (EDT), ersa’s latest report draws conclusions from a survey of practitioners and young people to understand the barriers they face, what services are offered, and what is considered to work best in helping NEET young people – and especially care leavers – to progress into work.

More than one in ten young people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 are classified as not in employment, education, or training (NEET), and the rate of young people being NEET has not fallen below 10% over the last twenty years.

We know that being NEET can have immediate negative consequences for a young person, such as decreasing levels of self-esteem, increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours such as substance misuse and criminal activities, and increasing their chances of living in poverty. While there has been much research into the factors that lead to becoming NEET, how these can be mitigated, and the impacts of being NEET, there is not the same body of evidence to inform the support provided to young people to move into and stay in education, employment, and training (EET). This study looks at what the existing research has to say and surveys young people and the practitioners who work with them on four key questions:

• What is currently offered in terms of in-work support for young people and care leavers?
• What are the key barriers to EET for young people and care leavers who are NEET?
• What is currently offered to young people and care leavers in terms of entry to EET support?
• What types of provision are most effective at dealing with the barriers young people face to EET?

Read more here

Thousands of low-cost training spaces available in boost to green jobs sector

Thousands of new training places are available for retrofitting, heat networks and heat pump installations.

*Up to 8,000 people will be trained in retrofitting and installing insulation
*A further 4,000 trainees will receive £500 discount on training to install and maintain heat networks
*Launch of first-ever apprenticeship to train next generation of heat pump installers

Under the £8.85 million Home Decarbonisation Skills Training scheme, free or low-cost courses will be available through training providers, such as colleges and accreditation providers, across England. Applicants simply sign up for the training through their chosen provider and confirm they are eligible for the grant. Thousands of trainees will receive the practical training needed for heat networks, including feasibility
and design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Courses will be available to trainees from October 2023 to April 2024.

 

Read more here

Further details on how the expansion of the Youth Offer to inactive claimants, for the first time, will begin immediately to help young people into work and improve well-being. This will give over 30,000 of 16-24-year-olds the option to access three types of support through the Youth Offer: additional time with a Work Coach early in their claim; access to Youth Hubs; and Youth Employability Coaches.

Read more here.

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system in England. From
September 2025, it will create a single funding system to help people pay for college or university courses,
and train, retrain and upskill flexibly over their working lives.

The LLE will allow people to develop new skills and gain new qualifications at a time that is right for them.
This could be through a full-time degree, or individual modules, or other courses (like higher technical
qualifications).

Click here to read more. 

A new government programme will help overcome existing barriers for refugees to find work and become
self-sufficient in the UK.

Refugees, including people from Syria, Iran, Eritrea, and Sudan, can now apply to a new government
programme to gain the skills they need to enter the UK job market and lead independent lives.
The government’s new £52 million Refugee Employability Programme aims to overcome the barriers faced
by refugees to integrate into local communities and society, including language and cultural differences,
and speed up their contribution to the UK economy. Afghans resettled in England under either ACRS or
ARAP will also be eligible to apply to the programme.

 

The programme will operate for two years and will provide enhanced support to refugees and Afghans
across employment, English Language training and integration, to build up their confidence and skills to find
work and secure better prospects for themselves and their families.

Through the new Refugee Employability Programme, people will receive a personal development plan that
will be tailored to their ambitions and personal circumstances. This will range from skills courses, support
with CV writing and job applications, work experience opportunities, and enhanced English language
training, including access to formal and informal classes, online learning and resources and conversational
classes.

For people who do not already receive integration support, the programme will help them access public
services, including a GP and a job centre, local community groups and mental health support. Doing so will
help vulnerable refugees to rebuild their lives in the UK and put them on the path to self-sufficiency.
This is in addition to eligible refugees having the right to work in the UK, access to public services and claim
benefits, including Universal Credit.

 

Click here to read more.

Millions of workers will have a say over their working patterns as Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill achieves Royal Assent.
Government-backed law gives all workers the legal right to request a predictable working pattern encouraging workers to begin conversations with their employers.

Follows a wave of wins for workers after a record National Minimum Wage uplift and boosts to employment protections for parents and unpaid carers.

This new law will support workers in many areas plus –
*Supporting employee parents of new-born babies who are admitted into neonatal care with up to 12 weeks
of paid neonatal care leave
*Requiring employers to ensure that all tips, gratuities, and service charges received are paid to workers in
full
*Offering pregnant women and new parents greater protection against redundancy
*Entitling employees who are also unpaid carers to a period of unpaid leave
*Providing millions of employees with a day one right to request flexible working, and a greater say over
when, where, and how they work

 

Click here to find out more! 

The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q2 2023 was 4.2%, up from 3.9% in Q1 2023. This was above Germany (2.9%) and the US (3.6%) but below France (7.3%).

The Eurozone’s rate was 6.5% in Q1 2023, down from 6.6% in Q1, while in the G7 it was unchanged at 4.0%.

Unemployment rates rose in almost all the OECD countries following the coronavirus outbreak, although the size of the increase varied widely.
Spain had the highest unemployment rate out of the OECD member states in Q2 2023 at 11.9%, followed by Greece at 11.3%. Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea had the lowest at 2.6%.

Youth (aged 15-24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q2 2023 the youth unemployment rate was 27.7% in Spain, 27.1% in Costa Rica and 25.9% in Greece. It was 12.3% in the UK.

Note – Q2 figures.
Youth unemployment September 2023 – 12.7%
All ages unemployment – 4.3%

 

Click here to read more!