Neets in Berkshire
The revelations this week from Alan Milburn that 60% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds have never had a job are most concerning. There are now some one million Neets (those not in employment, education or training). Many are on welfare; many have mental health issues. Perhaps the Reading Tech Cluster can help here, though in Berkshire our highest Neet rate in the county is just 4.4% for Slough for 16 to 17 year olds. Berkshire as a whole has around 11,000 young people aged 16 to 24 who are Neet, much less than the around 13% of all 16 to 24 year olds across England. But even a relatively small number of Neets is not good enough. Let’s see if the many tech companies in Berkshire can take on more of our Neets through work experience placements (even temporary placements with an option to convert to full employment), internships and even employment. Our start-ups and scale-ups can help too. Maybe the government could pay part of the wages for the first few months, there could be one-off recruitment grants, National Insurance relief for employers hiring Neets, apprenticeship funding targeted specifically at Neet candidates. Workplace mentors and dedicated employment coaches with work-readiness training could work with the Neets. Local authority procurement contracts could award points for employing local Neets. Let’s get to work to get our young Neets in work.
