Engagement Network - News

This page offers the latest news updates from the Engagement Network Project and related press stories on youth employment and training:

Activity Agreement and Entry to Learning pilots to end in December

Children and Young People Now
25 June 2010

The government has cut short national pilots aimed at helping vulnerable young people into employment and training. Eight Activity Agreement pilots (AAPs) and four Entry to Learning pilots were due to run until March 2011. But the government has now written to service providers delivering the pilots to tell them their work will end on 31 December. In a letter to the pilot areas, the Department for Education said the decision was taken as part of the £6bn of savings being made across government.  Read more >>

Youth job prospects and pay made priority of Low Pay Commission

Children and Young People Now
23 June 2010

The commission will also continue to monitor the impact of the national minimum wage, which is to rise in October. The new rates will be £3.64 an hour for 16- and 17-year-olds, £4.92 for 18- to 20-year-olds and £5.93 for those over 21. A minimum wage for apprentices of £2.50 an hour will also be brought in for the first time. Read more >>

Numbers of NEET young people drops

Department for Education
23 June 2010

The DfE has published Participation in education, training and employment by 16-18 year olds in England.  The Statistical First Release provides provisional end 2009 estimates of participation in education, training and   employment and those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).  The figures show that the number of young people who are ‘NEET’ has fallen to 9.2 per cent in 2009, compared to 10.3 per cent in 2008.  The figures also show a rise in the number of young people choosing to stay on in education.  Nearly seven in 10 (68 per cent) 16 to 18-year- olds stayed in full-time education in 2009, compared with 64.7 per cent the year before.

Extension of Young Person's Guarantee is latest victim of government cuts

Children & Young People Now
17 June 2010

The guarantee was due to be extended into 2011/12 at a cost of £450m, promising a job or training to every 18- to 24-year-old who has been out of work for six months or more. But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said that this extension will no longer go ahead. Read more >>

Youth work tops young people's career aspirations

Children & Young People Now
15 June 2010

Children & Young People Now reports on a survey by the charity Rathbone which found that being a youth worker is the most popular career aspiration among young unemployed people. The second most popular career choice was car mechanic, while the least popular were cleaning jobs.

The majority of those surveyed were desperate for work, with nine out of 10 happy to work for the minimum wage if it put them on the first rung of the career ladder. The survey also found that the influence of TV programmes such as X Factor and celebrity gossip have minimal impact on young people's career aspirations. Seven out of 10 had no aspiration to be famous. Paul Fletcher, Rathbone director of policy, said: "Our survey showed that far from being lazy and unrealistic, these young people were level-headed and anxious to achieve. At a time when we have many arts graduates but very few affordable plumbers, we need to encourage this generation to prove themselves. That might be by giving them a taste of the workplace or by offering incentives to small businesses to take on more apprentices."  Read more >>

Engagement Network widens its view

Children and Young People Now
11 May 2010

Young people from the National Youth Agency's Engagement Network took part in a London residential recently, bringing the project's initial pilot training phase to an end.

As well as a trip on the London Eye young people from the four areas involved gave a presentation to the project's funder, the Local Government Association, and had an opportunity to meet with other workers and young people involved in advocacy work similar to theirs. These included Alex Goode, participation officer with Lambeth Youth Council, Blossom Young, from UK Youth Parliament, and members of the Greater London Authority's Peer Outreach Team - made up of young people aged 15 to 25.

The Engagement Network supports young people who are not in education, employment or training to advise their local authority on appropriate policy and implementation, and the agency is now keen to extend the benefits of the project. Plans to recruit a further 100 young people from around the country are under way. For more information contact Roger Morford at the NYA.

One Sixth of 18-24-Year-Olds 'NEET'

Department for Education
20 May 2010

Latest statistics show that over one in six 18-to-24-year-olds are not in school, college or work. In total, 837,000 young people in this age group (17.6%) were classed as so-called ‘NEETs’ - not in employment, education or training - in the first quarter of 2010, up from 825,000 for the same period last year.

Government statistics reveal that almost a million 16-24-year-olds are classed as being NEET. Some 927,000 fell into the category in the first quarter of 2010 - up from 895,000 in the final quarter of last year. Compared to the first quarter of 2009, the number of young people that are ‘NEET’ has fallen by 6,000.

Statistics reveal that the proportion of 16-18-year-olds classed as NEET has fallen slightly to 195,000 from 222,000 in the first quarter of 2009. However one in ten (10.1%) young people in this age group fall into the ‘NEET’ category.

Latest ‘NEET’ Statistics - Quarterly Brief May 2010

Network ready to make a real difference to young unemployed

Children and Young People Now
30 March 2010

Young people from the National Youth Agency's Engagement Network try "the impossible lift" as part of the activities on their residential event at Brathay Hall in Cumbria in mid-March.

The NYA is working with local authorities in Sandwell, Cumbria, Bradford and Plymouth to recruit, train and support a small group of young people who have been or are currently not in education, employment or training.

They in turn will become consultants to the local authority, shaping the provision for other young people and exercising genuine influence over local services.

NYA development officer Roger Morford said: "We will help these young people acquire the skills they need to engage more widely in their local areas and then move on to share their learning and experience with new authorities around the country. By helping to explore solutions that work in meeting the needs of young people not in education, employment or training, we believe they can make a real impact."

The programme, funded by the Local Government Association, builds on its Hidden Talents project.

Network will explore solutions for reducing numbers not in education

Children and Young People Now
16 February 2010

The National Youth Agency (NYA) has established an Engagement Network to explore solutions to meeting the needs of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) more effectively and to help reduce their numbers.

The agency is working with local authorities in Sandwell, Cumbria, Bradford and Plymouth in a programme funded by the Local Government Association. Each of these areas will recruit, train and support a small group of young people who have been or are classed as ‘NEET’.

They in turn will become consultants to the local authority, shaping the provision for other ‘NEET’ young people and giving young people genuine influence over local services. The project builds on the wider Local Government Association ‘NEET’ campaign.

NYA development officer Roger Morford said: "This is a really exciting project to be involved in and one that potentially can make a huge difference to the expectations of ‘NEET’ young people around the country. In essence we will help give these young people the skills to engage more widely in their communities. The young people from the four pilot programmes will come together as a network and, ultimately, influence not only their local services but share their learning and experience more widely with new authorities around the country. They'll also help to steer the overall direction of the project."

The agency is working with training provider Leap on the programme and a residential at Brathay in Cumbria for the young people is planned for next month. The effectiveness of the overall programme will be evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research.