
The impact of COVID-19 on young people’s prospects in the labour market and in education is rapidly becoming a cause for concern.
According to the IFS, young workers today will be hit the hardest. Youth unemployment could potentially rise to one million young people. We know that the scarring effects of short and long-term unemployment are disproportionately experienced by younger generations, and those facing disadvantage, so it is vital that we do everything we can to protect these groups now.
In response to the crisis, Impetus, Youth Futures Foundation, Youth Employment UK, the Institute for Employment Studies and The Prince’s Trust formed the Youth Employment Group (YEG) to bring together key leaders and experts around the youth employment sector to help drive the UK’s response.
The Youth Employment Group is focusing on the immediate and longer-term impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the employment prospects of young people, in particular those facing the greatest challenges. There are six working groups covering the main areas of concern:
- Reducing job-losses in the immediate term
- Providing employability support during lockdown
- Ensuring a quality welfare-to-work system post-lockdown
- Encouraging a healthy youth labour market post-lockdown
- Supporting viable and quality self-employment for young people
- Ensuring effective and accurate use of data
The group provides the opportunity to work collaboratively, and with governments and policy makers, to ensure that young people – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – are best supported during COVID-19 and its aftermath.
There is also has a dedicated Youth Voice Team, who involve young people in the working groups to ensure their views and insight is incorporated into any recommendations or output from the group.
You can read the final recommendations from the six working groups here.
Ministers and officials are regularly meeting the Youth Employment Group which represent over 100 youth employment organisations including Youth Employment UK and the Princes Trust. These are helping to shape the Department’s policy to ensure young people receive the right support in both the short and long term.
From the Government Response to the Work and Pensions Committee First Report of Session 2019–21: DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The launch of the Youth Employment Group was covered in The Independent, and the call for an Opportunity Guarantee with the wider sector was covered in The Sunday Times. The Secretariat and members of the Youth Voice Team have met with ministers and officials from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
If you would like to stay informed and share information, please join the LinkedIn Group below. If you have research, insights and resource to contribute and would like your organisation to become a member of the Youth Employment Group, please contact Samantha Windett, Chair of the Youth Employment Group, via the button below.
Member organisations
- The 5% Club
- Access Generation
- A New Direction
- AccessEd
- AGCAS
- Amazing Apprenticeships
- Apps for Good
- Association of Colleges
- AYM
- Base UK
- The Blagrave Trust
- Blue Prism
- Bradford Youth Development Partnership
- Brighton and Hove City Council
- Business in the Community
- Care Leaver Covenant
- Career Connect
- Career Development Institute
- Career Ready
- Careers England
- Catch22
- Central London Forward
- Centre for Cities
- The Centre for Education and Youth
- The Centre for Youth Impact
- Circle Collective
- City & Guilds Foundation
- City Gateway
- Communities that Work
- Construction Youth Trust
- Council of Somali Organisations
- Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership
- Curious Minds
- Demos
- Disability Rights UK
- DMH Associates
- Drive Forward Foundation
- Ealing Council
- East Sussex County Council
- The Edge Foundation
- EDSK
- EFL Trust
- ENGIE
- EngineeringUK
- ERSA
- EY Foundation
- Federation of Small Businesses
- Feeding Britain
- Firmin Consultancy
- First Class Legacy
- Fledglink
- Future Frontiers
- Generation
- Generation Medics
- GMCVO
- Good Help
- Gosad
- Grand Union Housing Group
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Groundwork UK Half-Full
- HAYN
- Hatch Enterprise
- The Heart of the City
- Impetus
- Institute for Employment Studies
- Institute for Public Policy Research
- Institute of Employability Professionals
- Institute of Student Employers
- IVE
- Jon Egging Trust
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- King’s College London
- Launch It
- Learning and Work Institute
- Leonard Cheshire
- Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
- London Borough of Hounslow
- London Councils
- London First
- London Progression Collaboration
- London Youth
- Maximus UK
- Mayor’s Fund for London
- Movement to Work
- my AFK
- MyKindaFuture
- Nacro
- National Centre for Universities and Business
- National Deaf Children's Society
- The National Literacy Trust
- The National Lottery Community Fund
- National Youth Agency
- NCFE
- Newcastle United Foundation
- North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- Ormiston Academies Trust
- Partnership for Young London
- People Plus
- Policy Connect
- Policy in Practice
- Premier League Charitable Fund
- Preparing for Adulthood
- The Prince's Trust
- Pro Bono Economics
- Push
- Reed in Partnership
- Resolution Foundation
- Resurgo
- Rocket Science
- Roundhouse
- The RSA
- Scope
- Shaw Trust
- Sheffield Futures
- Skills Builder Partnership
- The Skill Mill
- The Skills Network
- Social Market Foundation
- Social Mobility Commission
- SOFEA
- Spark
- Sport 4 Life UK
- Springboard
- Springpod
- Street Games
- Stride
- Talentino
- ThinkForward
- Thurrock Council
- Timpson
- Track
- Transform Lives Company
- TryTech
- UK Youth
- Ultra Education
- University of Bath Institute for Policy Research
- University of Derby
- UnLtd
- Venture Trust
- Virgin Media
- Warwick Institute for Employment Research
- West Ham United Foundation
- West London Alliance
- West Midlands Combined Authority
- Westminster Foundation
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
- WorkingOptions
- WorldSkills UK
- Young Enterprise
- Young Women's Trust
- YouthBuild Ventures UK
- Youth Employment UK
- Youth Fed
- Youth Futures Foundation
- Youth Leads UK
To find out about the other COVID-19 response coalitions Impetus is involved in, click here.