18 Nov 2011 ● Andre Boeke
Attitude and Ability
Have you seen the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s Youth Employment Taskforce report?
You can download it here (REC Report), and it brings up some really interesting points. It focuses predominantly on the fact that youth unemployment has not just been on the rise, but reached previously unheard of levels. 1 million, which represents over 20% unemployment.
There are some interesting recommendations which can potentially help recruiters and businesses though:
a) Recommendation for a two year National insurance holiday for each additional young person employed in the private sector
b) Promoting the growth of apprenticeships and internships by broadening existing schemes, developing standards and supporting businesses, particularly SME's in offering them.
It also interestingly says the following:
"There is a real mismatch in terms of what young people think employers want and what employers are really looking for. Students perceive employers as principally wanting skills and knowledge. However, employers said their goal was to find people with the right attitude and ability to work with others. This mismatch can be addressed by improving links between business and academia on both a national and local level."
Although this sounds sensible, and does make sense, there is still a sense of urgency with recruiting. There is a requirement to have someone adding value to the business, and skills and knowledge ensure that it is a less risky process. On the other hand, as an employer ourselves, we know that getting the right attitude and ability is ultimately a lot more useful to the business.
The Youth Employment Taskforce has been followed by the development of a Youth Employment Charter, which can be found by clicking here. Please do sign it - as a recruiter it's great way of publicly stating that you will back initiatives to get more young people into work, and are urging the Government to do more to promote and help businesses recruit.
There are some interesting recommendations which can potentially help recruiters and businesses though:
a) Recommendation for a two year National insurance holiday for each additional young person employed in the private sector
b) Promoting the growth of apprenticeships and internships by broadening existing schemes, developing standards and supporting businesses, particularly SME's in offering them.
It also interestingly says the following:
"There is a real mismatch in terms of what young people think employers want and what employers are really looking for. Students perceive employers as principally wanting skills and knowledge. However, employers said their goal was to find people with the right attitude and ability to work with others. This mismatch can be addressed by improving links between business and academia on both a national and local level."
Although this sounds sensible, and does make sense, there is still a sense of urgency with recruiting. There is a requirement to have someone adding value to the business, and skills and knowledge ensure that it is a less risky process. On the other hand, as an employer ourselves, we know that getting the right attitude and ability is ultimately a lot more useful to the business.
The Youth Employment Taskforce has been followed by the development of a Youth Employment Charter, which can be found by clicking here. Please do sign it - as a recruiter it's great way of publicly stating that you will back initiatives to get more young people into work, and are urging the Government to do more to promote and help businesses recruit.
