Promoting Youth EmploymentAER Peer Review

Jude Robinson

Children’s Services Dept

Area Manager, Post-14 Learning

Hampshire Economy • Population: 1.28 million• Key sectors: Finance and business services;

public administration, education and health; retail, hotels and catering

• Unemployment: (16-65 yrs) 2.4%, compared to UK rate of 3.9%

• Job vacancies: Estimated 27,600

1.0 claimants for every vacancy, compared to 1.7 in UK

Youth Unemployment • UK youth unemployment (16-24yrs) 21.9%

(ILO definition) • Hampshire 18-24 youth unemployment 4.2%

(JSA claimant rate) • 16-18 young people not in education,

employment or training (NEET) 5.2% • Variations in districts –some areas with high

levels of youth unemployment and NEETs

Key challenges

• Raising the Participation Age (RPA)

• 14-16 vulnerable learners at risk of disengaging in school

• 16-18 NEETS

• 18-24 young unemployed

What we are doing? • Raising the Participation Age –

Framework Plan

• Working Futures: Employment initiatives

• Youth Support Service: Targeted, commissioned and sold

• Building on partnership approach and work with voluntary sector

Examples of projects

• Internship Plus for care leavers

• Award programme for ex-offenders

• Gosport College for NEETS

• Prince’s Trust for 18-24 entrepreneurship

Lessons from PYE

• Hampshire Youth Employment Plan – integrated with RPA Framework

• Developing ‘Working Futures’ – Hampshire’s role as an employer

• Youth Employment Conference – giving young people a voice