The government is determined to turn the tide on the scandal of youth unemployment, recognising that the system itself must change, a message repeated in the government-commissioned Young People and Work report led by Alan Milburn.
The report makes for sobering reading, with almost a million young people left in limbo. It outlines how dysfunctional and disconnected the system has become. We are paying more for worse outcomes, and that must change.
We must value and fix the apprenticeship system so that working class kids get the best chance to start a decent career and build a good life, and we have to stop believing we can do this from Whitehall. Our mayor’s, leaders and skills providers know their areas best, they need to be trusted to make the changes needed to pathways, courses and support alongside employers.
Labour, as the party of working people know that a country and its economy can only thrive if it values the workers who power it. If we fail to invest in young people in towns like Oldham, Chadderton and Royton, the cost of failure will always be greater.
The second report will focus on solutions and I look forward to submitting to it and reading its conclusions.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/neets-billions-snowflakes-milburn-report-37215262
Jim McMahon OBE MP 