Young and unemployed? Join the military, defence minister says
Unemployed young people should consider joining the military rather than going to university, a minister has suggested, after the number of young people not working or studying reached a 12-year high.
Veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones said young people trying to advance their careers should “seriously” consider a career in the armed forces.
he said Telegram: “A really important message to young people is that when you’re looking at the options available to you, whether you’re looking for university or a trade apprenticeship, take a really serious look at the armed forces.”
The Labor MP, a retired army captain who served in Afghanistan, added that “the range of careers you can go into in the armed forces is much wider than people think.”
His comments follow the provisional publication of Alan Milburn’s report on economic inactivity and young people on Thursday. Without urgent government action, Britain could see hundreds of thousands more young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) by the early 2030s, a former Labor health minister has warned
Official data released on Thursday shows that the number of people with Neet status in the 16-24 age group reached 1.01 million; This is the highest figure since the late 2010s, following the financial crash of 2008.
Ms Sandher-Jones added: “It’s outrageous to look at the generation behind me and see how few opportunities they have had. That’s the real challenge for this government.”
Focusing on vocational apprenticeships, the defense secretary said the program offered by Rolls Royce was the “gold standard” and that he would “take it to a place at Oxbridge at any time”.
He added that in the past, the university alternative “was not explained enough to young people.”
“We have a very clear path from school to university and that’s great. [But] We do not emphasize the benefits [doing] an apprenticeship can do that.”
Labor said in February it was training new job center work coaches at Army and Royal Air Force bases on the benefits of military careers.
Ministers hope the initiative will attract “tens of thousands” of young people into the Armed Forces, boosting defense capacity while reducing NEET figures.
Youth ages 16 and over can begin apprenticeships with the military, which can include training in engineering, healthcare and cyber skills.
But a survey of 2,000 young people aged 16 to 29, commissioned by the John Smith Center at the University of Glasgow and released last month, found half of them said they would never take up arms in Britain’s name.
Steven Evans, chief executive of the Institute for Learning and Work, commented: “This is unlikely to make a big dent in Neet numbers. We’re not going to accept several hundred thousand people in the army.”
“I don’t know how many of these million young people will want to go to the army. [and] I didn’t hear much about how many extra places there were. [the government] “We will offer it.”
