Connect young people with firms to stem generations of worklessness says Minister (From The Northern Echo)

Connect young people with firms to stem generations of worklessness says Minister

8:00am Wednesday 8th February 2012 in North-East Business News By Owen McAteer

CONNECTING young people with local firms could help cure the problem of generations in the same family not working, the Employment Minister said last night.

Chris Grayling was speaking in the North-East yesterday after visiting an initiative in Newcastle aimed at tackling multi-generational worklessness.

Mr Grayling also praised the Northern Echo's Foundation for Jobs campaign, launched two weeks ago, by its patron, the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, to boost the job prospects of the under-25s.

It aims to create at least 100 apprenticeship places and 100 internships at firms in the Darlington borough, as well as inspiring youngsters to develop entrepreneurial skills

The foundation, in association with Darlington Partnership, also aims to provide 1,000 young people with the chance to establish formal links with local companies, an initiative Mr Grayling believed could help tackle a problem of almost one in four households in the North East with nobody working.

Mr Grayling said: "The more you can give young people work experience and experience of the workplace the more likely you are to excite them about opportunities for the future and helps encourage those who have grown up in an environment where nobody is working."

During his visit Mr Grayling visited The Wise Group in Newcastle, one of the organisations in the North-East looking to tackle the problem of multi-generational worklessness.

He said: "I think it is so much more difficult for a young person who has no experience of work in the family to find their way into work.

"They perhaps don't turn up at school or try to find a job afterwards because backgrounds have a really big influence and we have a job to try to engage these young people."

Mr Grayling did believe that by chipping away at the problem a solution could be found.

He added: "I think when you start to chip away at a culture of worklessness in a household or community and when you start to get one or two into work others want to be part of it themselves.

"If we can bring a culture of work into a household or community we can start to make a difference."

He also believed initiatives such as Foundation for Jobs could help make young people keen on careers in areas such as manufacturing.

"If we can excite them while they are young that has got to be good for the region," he added.