Options for school leavers

 

It’s hard to keep up to date with movements in post-16 options these days – young people are either bombarded with too much choice, or stuck with too little. Last night Nick Clegg pushed for jobs to be created – just enough for the unemployed 16-24 year old gap. Clegg, speaking at the CBI annual dinner, was urgent in expressing the need for the extra work, saying options for school leavers are too complicated.

The solution is both simple and complicated – employers need to create more jobs for the unemployed. Certain solutions are potentially available  for staffing solutions, such as creating 2 part time positions in place of one at full time (whilst also increasing available  staff in busy period) offering apprenticeships and internships in place of fully waged positions (helping your business save money, whilst helping a young person expand their experiences and gain qualifications. These are externally funded, so you would only need to pay an apprentice wage (£2.65 per hour is the minimum). 

The law for school leavers is now that they must be in either:
a) full time education
b) a learning based job (such as an apprenticeship)
c) self-employment or voluntary work

Until the age of 17, the young person must ensure they are secured in one of these places (this will rise to 18 in 2015).

Try your local colleges and 6^th Forms for prospectuses, and see if something catches your eye. If it’s an apprenticeship you’re interested in, take a look at the details here http://www.essentialrecruitment.co.uk/training-essentials/ or for volunteering, http://www.do-it.org.uk/ is a great site for finding vacancies in your area. 

Source: BBC