Fri, 3 Feb 2012

Young adults who recall four or more employer contacts while at school are five times less likely to be NEET (not in employment, education or training) than those who had less or no involvement.

This is the finding of charity the Education and Employers Taskforce’s ‘It’s who you meet: why employer contacts at school make a difference to the employment prospects of young adults’.

However, it is only a small group of young adults who had that much employer contact – only 7% of those surveyed.

The survey is published to coincide with the launch on Monday (6 February) of a report by David Miliband, chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations’ (ACEVO) Commission on Youth Unemployment, which coincidently also marks the start of National Apprenticeships Week.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) says: “It’s really important for young people to get a chance to meet a range of people, doing a range of jobs. We need to do everything we can to tackle the crisis of youth unemployment.”