Labour have announced that, if they are in power in 2015, those who are unemployed and lack the essential Maths and English skills, must undergo training, or face their benefits stripped.
Will Davies, a former banker, now successful property entrepreneur, and a long-term campaigner for apprenticeships and further training for the young unemployed, agrees with Labour but says that more must be done to encourage people to undertake quality apprenticeships.
“At the moment, if an eastern European is interviewed for a job and he has completed a full trade apprenticeship abroad, as many of them have, they are a more attractive prospect to employers,” said Davies.
“However, we have found that the willingness to work demonstrated by migrant workers has had a beneficial effect on British youngsters.”
“It is essential that employers are granted the power to design apprenticeships for young people. Employers know the skills they require and therefore they know the skills that are employable,” Will Davies adds.
“Generations of employment schemes have failed young workers. Civil servants and outside training agencies (although undoubtedly well meaning) have failed to produce youngsters with employable skills.”
“Employers like aspect.co.uk have campaigned for years to be given access to the apprenticeship purse strings. It is all very well for Labour to call for government to work with companies to employ more ‘local’ workers but first we have to equip them with employable skills,” said Mr Davies.
“More than 20% of the under 24 year-olds in this country are without employment or training at the moment and becoming more and more alienated by the job market. That is a dire situation: no country can hope to return itself to a sound financial footing if it alienates 20% of its future workforce.”
As of April 2014, individuals who are unable to find work through the Work Programme will have to report the Job Centre daily, engage in community work or compulsory training if they are not to lose their benefits.
The Chancellor George Osborne said, "We are saying there is no option of doing nothing for your benefits, no something for nothing any more. People are going to have to do things to get their dole and that is going to help them into work.
"There needs to be a bit of tough love... to fix the problem of endemic workless-ness.
"No-one will be ignored or left without help. But no-one will get something for nothing,” Mr Osborne said.
“The chancellor is quite right to try and stamp out the ‘something for nothing’ culture prevalent amongst the long-term unemployed but it is equally important to upgrade the training opportunities we can offer them,” concludes Mr Davies.
