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Youth employment – The business case for hiring young job-seekers

Interesting report published today by the CIPD on the business case for hiring young job-seekers. A number of the messages echo the recommendations of the REC’s Youth Employment Taskforce which was launched in 2010. The report also flags some interesting trends in terms of how employers are approaching hiring decisions that will be of interest to recruitment professionals.

Initial findings from the CIPD report were discussed at the meeting we attended earlier this week between the new Employment Minister Mark Hoban and the ‘Employers and Employability Group’ which is made up leading business organisations including CIPD, CBI, BCC and FSB. According to the research, currently six in ten employers don’t offer any routes into their organisation for non-graduates. However, 71% of businesses believe they have a role to play in tackling youth unemployment.

One of the conclusions is that the business community  can do more to help – for example by engaging with young people at school or college and by providing work experience placements, apprenticeships, internships or entry level jobs. One of the aims of our own Youth Employment Charter is to help REC members build links with schools and colleges and to showcase the positive role that recruiters are already playing in this area.

The CIPD research confirms that negative perceptions of hiring young people still remain, but employers that have recruited young people are positive about the contribution they are making. Nine out of ten employers are either very satisfied (26%) or fairly satisfied (65%) with the young people they have recruited. The business case made by the CIPD includes the need to build a talent pipeline as well as the potential to strengthen the employer brand by demonstrating that the organisation is actively engaging with its community.

Peter Cheese, CEO at the CIPD, makes the point “that many employers don’t always understand the benefits young people can bring to their organisation or have the right practices in place to bring on young people and give them the best chances of success.” This is where recruiters can make a difference by working on partnership with client organisations. There are also opportunities for bringing new talent into the recruitment industry which is why the REC recently announced plans for an Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeship in recruitment.

More information on the CIPD’s work in this area is at the following link: http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/learning-to-work.aspx

An overview of the REC’s plans for plans for an Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeship in recruitment is at: http://www.rec.uk.com/press/news/2196

For information on the REC’s Youth Employment Taskforce and Youth Employment Charter go to: http://www.rec.uk.com/about-recruitment/externalrelations/youthemploymentcharter