Neets is a new economic and social phenomenon that is being discussed by politicians and policymakers and, yes, they are coming to a street near you.No, they are not the latest group of aliens which Doctor Who will have to battle to save the universe. Neets is the term now being given to an increasing number of young people ‘not engaged in education or training nor in employment’ and living on the margins of society.
Without help and support, they will end up as a massive burden on the state. For example, a study from the Department for Education and Skills estimates that the current cohort of 16 to 18-year-old Neets in the UK will cost a total a minimum of £15 billion, including more than £8 billion in unemployment benefits. Three-quarters of those appearing in youth courts – mainly for committing burglaries and thefts - are Neets, and 71 per cent of this group have used drugs, with 10 per cent classed as addicts.
In Wales, statistics show that approximately 51,000 of those young people aged 16-24 years of age (or 15 per cent of the total age group) are classed as Neets, and the figure is set to grow over the next ten years if there is no intervention to ensure greater participation in education or employment. More worryingly, all of these will have left school during the last eight years when wales has had its own devolved Government.
Like many, I believe the solution for many of these inactive, ‘disengaged’ young people can be partly addressed by developing programmes which deal with the low educational achievements of disadvantaged young people and offering more vocationally oriented education and work-based training.
However, we have clearly yet to find the right formula here in Wales and despite hundreds of millions of pounds of European Objective 1 money being spent on various schemes within the most deprived communities in Wales, the most worrying fact is that, since the creation of the National Assembly in 1999, the proportion of economically inactive young people has actually increased (and this during a period when employment has been growing). More worryingly, many of these excluded young people are to be found in our poorest communities and their opportunities for the future will be extremely limited. Whatever the solution, we need to identify the development of this group of excluded young people as a key economic priority for the next Assembly Government.
At least the plan for spending the next round of the £1.3 billion of European funding has finally identified the development of young people as a key strategic aim for Wales. The fact that we are eight years late in ensuring this is a priority for developing our prosperity should not deter all parts of our nation, especially the private sector, from working closely with policymakers to ensure that this group of Neets is the last ‘lost generation’ of young people in Wales and that they make the most of their talents and enthusiasm to build a better future for themselves and their communities.
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