Mayor's View: Bold thinking can help beat youth unemployment
Too many young people in Peterborough are in the dangerous position of not being in work, education or training, writes Paul Bristow, the Combined Authority Mayor.
And the figures are not getting any better. Latest statistics show one in 20 16–17-year-olds in our city are classed as ‘NEETs’ – the shorthand for young people not in work, training or post-16 education. The rate in the region is now at its highest level since comparable records began in 2016, with Peterborough the worst hit.
It’s unacceptable – and we’re doing something about it.
You may have read in the Peterborough Telegraph my announcement of a new Youth Employment Hub at Peterborough United’s Weston Homes Stadium. This will be a genuine one-stop shop for young people aged 16-24 – a welcoming space that brings together careers advice, skills training, mental health support and job-matching all under one roof.
This is about thinking different. This problem has been around for too long and is getting worse. So we need to shake up the status quo.
A visit to Posh’s stadium will already feel very different for a young person than going to a traditional job centre – it's more exciting, more inspiring and doesn’t carry the same baggage.
And what’s also important is the partnerships we have built to deliver it. Peterborough United Foundation, the English Football League’s community arm, Jobcentre Plus, health services and the city council are all working with us to create something unique for our young people. As Mayor and as a Combined Authority, it’s our job to build these innovative partnerships.
We’re also one of only eight places in the country chosen to lead new approaches through the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. That’s more money and support to help young people get into good jobs.
The truth is, creating opportunity and solving youth unemployment takes more than just one programme.
It’s why the Combined Authority is supporting our colleges, like providing funding for the recently opened Centre for Green Technology at Peterborough College. We’ve made higher education more accessible to more people with the opening of ARU Peterborough, a Combined Authority project in partnership with ARU and the city council. We’re backing apprenticeships, supporting Peterborough employers to take more young people on in ‘earn and learn’ roles.
And we’re supporting internships. This month I popped just down the road from Peterborough to see local construction giant Mick George Ltd offering internships in highly demanded construction skills. I spoke to young people being given the skills and experience they need to get quality jobs.
Each of these initiatives matters on its own, but together they build a stronger, more connected network of opportunities for young people. Only by joining up our approach can we really move the dial on this problem.
The Youth Employment Hub is due to open later this autumn. My ambition is that it will stand as proof of what can be achieved when we work together.
Because ultimately this is about more than statistics. Every percentage point in the NEET rate represents real lives – young people who, with the right support, have a lot to offer. They deserve our investment, our energy and our determination.
As Mayor, I will keep using my role to build partnership, to push and to lead – so that every young person in Peterborough has the chance to build a brighter future.