Giving young people a chance is good HR – and could avert disaster
Feral youths roaming in packs, cowed police officers powerless to intervene, shattered glass on the pavement... the riots that gripped our major cities in 2011 provided some arresting images. They also seem like a long time ago.
David Cameron called them a “wake-up call,” but with business confidence no longer bumping along the bottom and the Olympic glow still faintly visible, it’s easy to forget just how fractured social cohesion felt two years ago. We may be about to get a reminder.
Youth unemployment, while down on last year, remains stubbornly high at 959,000 for the three months to May 2013 – particularly among the very group that got caught up in the riots. Half those brought before the courts afterwards were aged 10-20 and a disproportionate number had cautions or convictions, special educational needs, or had been excluded from school. Add in the cost to the treasury over the next decade, estimated at £28 billion in an ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment report, and the “human misery of youth unemployment is a time-bomb under the nation’s finances”, not to mention the risk of more social disorder.
But why should employers care about marginalised young people when, according to the latest CIPD Labour Market Outlook, there is an average of 45 jobseekers for every low-skilled role?
One good reason, says Mike Westcott, National Grid’s HR director, is that it simply makes good business sense to develop a group of young people who can offer remarkable returns for your organisation. He cites the company’s Young Offender Programme: with the support of more than 80 other companies, it provides work-based training for inmates approaching the end of their sentences, as well as support, mentoring and a job on release for those who make the grade. The results speak for themselves – reoffending rates for participants drop to below 6 per cent, well below the national average of around 70 per cent.
“To give the full cross-section of society an opportunity is the right thing to do, particularly for large employers,” says Westcott. For a company that’s not “always the most favoured” when it’s digging holes in the road there are obvious brand benefits too but, he adds, there’s more to it than that. “You get incredible commitment because you have given someone a chance. You get a huge sense of loyalty and a sense of these individuals wanting to give something back. These are really good employees. If you had that level of commitment and passion in everyone, that would be a great place to be.”
Marcus, a recycling operative and one of 16 ex-offenders at Veolia Environmental Services, couldn’t agree more. He joined the company in January 2012 after spending three years in prison for GBH in a drunken street fight. “I didn’t think I would get a job,” he says. “I’m really grateful to Veolia.”
Without it, says the young dad, he would probably have ended up on benefits. “I’ve always thought people deserve second chances. In my case I made a mistake and I paid for it. Now I’m trying to make amends for it in a way. Many people don’t get that opportunity.”
Marcus is one of the lucky ones – he worked before he went to prison, gaining skills and experience that no doubt contributed to his employability. Other young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, could end up permanently excluded from the workplace. That’s something the Campaign for Youth Social Action hopes to address by encouraging young people to get involved in community and charity work, through volunteering or organisations such as the Scouts.
Launched in June by the Prince of Wales, the campaign aims to double the number of 10-20-year-olds (currently 29 per cent) taking part in “practical action in support of others” by 2020, bringing the UK into line with countries such as Canada, where 58 per cent pitch in. The Cabinet Office also plans to trial a “social action passport”, which would give young people an official record of their activities.
“Our research shows the best quality social action builds optimism, determination and emotional intelligence in young people. Developing confidence and self worth through challenging experiences can help to build skills, passions and CVs,” says Business in the Community’s vice-president, Julia Cleverdon, whose review into social action, commissioned by the prime minister, prompted the formation of the campaign. The review revealed a number of barriers, including a shortage of activities for young people to get involved in and confusion in business sectors about initiatives they could support.
So far all three main political parties have lent their support to the initiative, but, points out minister for civil society Nick Hurd, for the campaign to be a success it needs the support of business. “Employers have an enormous ability to educate and incentivise young people to take part,” he says. “Evidence shows the harmful long-term effects of unemployment on young people. It is crucial we all work to ensure that we don’t waste a generation of talent.”
Katerina Rüdiger, head of skills and policy campaigns at the CIPD, which backs the campaign, agrees that social action is an important way to help young people gain skills but she points out that employers also need to start recognising its value when recruiting.
“Asking about work experience is the default position for employers but we need to be more open-minded. Volunteering demonstrates that a young person is more proactive. It’s not just about skills: it’s about attitude.”
The Co-operative has been heavily involved in youth social action since 2010, when it launched its Inspiring Young People strategy, which includes a diverse range of projects, such as a partnership with StreetGames that has seen 6,000 young people run doorstep sports clubs in their local community as well as more than 10,000 youth-led community projects through its Truth about Youth campaign.
Chief HR officer Rebecca Skitt says businesses have a real responsibility to help inspire young people to step up and make a significant contribution to society. “It remains a challenging time to be a young person,” she says. “This approach, where young people’s energies are channelled into helping others, has many benefits. In fact, feedback shows it has often been the catalyst that helped a young person turn their life around.”
The Co-operative’s efforts also netted it millions of pounds in positive media coverage, an increase in applications to its apprenticeship and graduate programmes and a decrease in young people causing annoyance around problem stores, it says.
O2 also backs the campaign. Its Think Big initiative gives support and £300 grants to young people to implement social action projects. Further Think Bigger grants of £2,500 are also available to take projects to the next level.
So far the company has supported 4,000 projects, with the help of youth charities including the National Youth Agency and UK Youth which help it to reach marginalised young people who may not have the confidence to apply direct.
“If you aren’t in full-time employment in the first five years [after leaving education], it permanently affects your career,” says head of sustainability Bill Eyres. “We want to reach young people who need encouragement and support. At a time when business trust is falling, this is a way to show your business is different.”
Like the Co-operative, however, O2 has found the benefits of Think Big go beyond the obvious. There’s a connection to customers through O2 recycle, which raises money for Think Big, and the initiative has boosted employee engagement, with staff volunteering.
According to Katie Hyson, internal engagement manager for Think Big, employees who are involved in the project tend to be more actively engaged “across the board”. “A lot of employees do coaching and lighter touch mentoring,” she says. “One of our people said to me ‘The ideas that young people have are so refreshing; it has reinvigorated me.” Results like that are the best way to avoid another summer of discontent.
How to get involved
• Join the Campaign for Youth Social Action
youthsocialaction.co.uk
@campaignyouth
• Learn about CIPD youth volunteering opportunities
cipd.co.uk/learningtowork
• Speak at a local state school through Inspiring the Future
www.inspiringthefuture.org
✶ co-operative.coop/youngpeople
✶ o2thinkbig.co.uk
✶ nationalgrid.com/youngoffender