Five things we learned from our event, ‘fighting for a new deal for young people’
On 6 July, our event ‘Fighting for a New Deal for Young People’ brought together Saeed Atcha (CEO of Youth Leads), Michelle Rea (Head of Communications - Education at Gatsby Foundation) and Kate McGoey (Head of Barclays LifeSkills) to discuss why the time is here for businesses to play their part in a cross society drive to support skills development.
As we come out of the pandemic, we know it has taken an especially heavy toll on young people.
Reduced in-person interaction means young people have missed lots of opportunities to develop transferrable work skills at school/college
This was exacerbated by the cancellation of vital work experience placements throughout the pandemic[1]
As a result, young people are lacking confidence and optimism and even younger children are having to learn or re-learn the basics of building relationships with their peers
Schools’ focus has been on developing these social skills whilst also catching up their ‘lost’ learning.
Simultaneously the world of work is changing rapidly, and businesses are continuing to highlight skills shortages in the UK economy[2]. This means there is now a huge opportunity to rethink the way we support young people.
The government has already started with some reforms to rebalance the education system towards skills:
A focus on promoting apprenticeships and the creation of T-Levels
An increased emphasis on the importance of place and tackling regional inequalities with the ‘levelling up’ agenda
And there is a greater desire to hear young peoples’ voices after the pandemic
We think it’s now time for brands and business to step up and offer a ‘new deal’.
Businesses have first hand insights on the changes taking place in the economy and the skills young people need to take advantage. This means they are well placed to play a role in the training and development that can ‘futureproof’ young people and the existing workforce alike.
At our event, we heard from three pioneers who, in different ways, have long been pushing this agenda forward. Here’s five things we learned …
1. A new deal for young people is a job for all of us, not just for schools – businesses have an important role to play
Michelle called out the need for more joined up thinking across the whole employability ecosystem. Our current approach to skills development is too fragmented, without enough dialogue between business and education stakeholders.
She gave the example of employers who ask why they should invest in an apprentice that will eventually leave their company –contrasting this mindset with the more collaborative approach between businesses, training providers and educators in other countries[3].
Michelle reminded us that a siloed approach doesn’t reflect the reality of the lives of young people, who will simultaneously be engaging with their local communities, businesses, voluntary organisations and government.
Saeed agreed that “the success of a country depends on its young people”. While schools are one, important entry point, businesses need to work more effectively in partnership with the other ‘out of school’ youth organisations to make a meaningful difference.
LifeSkills’ deep impact projects in Bury and Kilmarnock show the impact a more collaborative approach can have. They provide small cohorts of young people with particular needs (for example young people in care) with repeated workshops and mentoring from charity partners working alongside their schools.
The panel reminded us that if we get this right, we all stand to benefit – a new deal that invests more in young people’s skills will help solve local and national shortages and create stronger pipelines for businesses.
2. This is the most engaged generation of young people ever
Panellists agreed that the current generation of young people were “the most engaged group of young people ever.” With recent research showing that 61% of Gen Z in the UK believe that brands should help people to live a better life[4], businesses are being offered a seat at the table and asked by their consumers to step up.
The pioneering work of Saeed’s own charity Youth Leads, which empowers young people to lead change in their communities, shows the power of meaningful, youth-led social action.
In one example he shared, young people wanted to find out why the uptake of free, government provided period products in schools was so low (a topic close to Hopscotch’s heart - read our research for DfE on the dissemination of free products in schools[5]). The young people surveyed [6] peers across Greater Manchester to identify and remove barriers – a powerful demonstration of this generation’s potential.
They have faced a number of challenges, exacerbated by the pandemic, yet young people remain passionate about building a better, more equal society. The panel celebrated the impact they have had raising awareness of the climate crisis and holding governments to account. They’re a generation that wants – and deserves – a new deal.
Brands and educators can design curriculum-linked projects to help young people channel their eco-anxiety into positive action to tackle the climate crisis. Hopscotch already works on sustainability projects with brands including the Met Office and the Northumbrian Water Group.
3. Young people do have a voice – businesses stand to gain from listening to them
Saeed challenged the need to move beyond the idea of ‘giving young people a voice.’ Young people already have a voice – Saeed says it is up to all of us to amplify it.
The panel called for brands to be more open to the voices of young people in their decision making – with Saeed turning the idea of ‘hard to reach’ children on its head and instead asking “are our brands [and the support they offer] hard to find?”
Kate agreed – sharing examples from LifeSkills which has had such success by “meeting young people where they need to be met” through a flexible approach to delivery.
The panel was clear: brands need to ensure their programmes and resources are developed with young people, not done to them. We must stop making assumptions about what young people need, and instead create structures for them to tell us.
This isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good business sense - by creating more pathways for young people, all businesses stand to benefit from their fresh thinking and ideas.
At Hopscotch this is done through co-creation at the heart of all our programme development – no presumptions are made, and we listen and evolve continually through our youth panel and educator panel.
4. Mentors matter – one of the most important investments businesses can make is their people
Saeed reminded us that the best resource businesses have is their people. Investing the time and passion of staff in young people can change lives.
He shared the difference a mentor from 02 had made in his own life – supporting him as he founded XPlode magazine (now part of YouthLeads) while still at school and took it to wide circulation in major supermarkets across Greater Manchester.
Mentors are also at the heart of the LifeSkills Deep Impact projects. A key feature of the programme is bringing in local business mentors to share what they have achieved. As Kate said, “it’s not that young people don’t have ambitions, it is that they need help grounding and realising them.” Meeting role models from their community helps young people think more practically about how they can achieve their ambitions.
OECD research across multiple countries has showed that encounters with employers, including job talks and visits, can have a significant impact on young people’s outcomes while helping them to develop their career aspirations[7].
Many Hopscotch projects feature a key volunteering component, with flexible delivery methods including mentoring, workshops and inspirational live assembly sessions. We encourage businesses to take advantage of the passion of their staff and often provide training to support mentors to make the biggest difference.
5. Against a backdrop of political instability, businesses can have impact by making a longer-term commitment
With our event taking place on a day of political drama, with ministerial resignations continuing to dominate the headlines, the panellists highlighted the opportunity for brands to take a longer-term approach to investing in young people.
Kate highlighted the longevity of Barclays’ commitment to LifeSkills over nine years – a stability that means over 90% of UK secondary schools are now using their resources in the classroom with significant impact. She said the key to this success was to have a clear long-term ambition and message, and to commit to it over time.
This is in sharp contrast with the short-term political cycle, where government policy priorities quickly come and go. Michelle argued in this context, it’s up to businesses to keep a new deal for young people on the agenda. She had a simple message: that businesses can now be the ones to provide the continuity and champion recent skills reforms to ensure they are a success.
Together our panellists were clear: the need and the opportunity for brands to make a difference by investing in young people is more urgent than ever.
[1] https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/coronavirus-workplace-access-and-graduate-recruitment
[2] https://www.edge.co.uk/research/projects/skills-shortages-uk-economy/
[3] https://www.thersa.org/blog/2019/02/what-uk-vocational-education-can-learn-from-switzerland
[4] https://www.insites-consulting.com/reports/gen-z-report/
[5] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/858377/200106_DfE_Period_Product_Scheme_final_report_v8.pdf
[6] https://youthleads.uk/news/how-a-group-of-young-people-are-tackling-period-poverty