Today we’re talking about young people and opportunity. Very often as politicians, most of us say that we want every child or young person to go as far as their talents and ability will take them, and I’m comforted by things like that. The trouble is, it’s not really true if they’ve grown up in poverty, if they’re wanting to take the non-university route into work, or if they’re one of the 13% or more who are not in ...
Today we’re talking about young people and opportunity. Very often as politicians, most of us say that we want every child or young person to go as far as their talents and ability will take them, and I’m comforted by things like that. The trouble is, it’s not really true if they’ve grown up in poverty, if they’re wanting to take the non-university route into work, or if they’re one of the 13% or more who are not in employment, training or education. Today I want to focus on how we provide opportunity to them. So, the three steps that we’ve put in place – which are more of a broad strategic view – are building blocks. Firstly, on poverty, how do we stop children growing up in poverty? There are a number of really important measures, which, when you put them together, begin to make this realistic. First is breakfast clubs – children get to school really early and to have something to eat before school, and for some children they would otherwise not get breakfast, so that’s hugely important, and that also helps them learn. It’s useful for parents and carers as well, because they can get to work and actually that is really good for the children, because the socialisation of being with other children before school really matters. Second is pre-school childcare, from nine months to four years. I can’t overstate how proud I am of this, because it saves parents a lot of money. As anyone who uses childcare already knows, including my family when ours were younger, it means that children get the chance between nine months and four years to have that good childcare, and that means when they arrive at school they’re more likely to have an equal start in life. Almost every primary school I go to talk to, those who are receiving the children at age four, they will say there’s a massive difference between those that are reasonably advanced, ready to learn, and those who are way behind. And already at age four, there’s a gap that schools are trying to make up, so that really makes a good difference. And then the two-child benefit limit will be lifted, so that’s building block number one. Building block number two is what I call the technical tilt – but this is the tilt towards technical skills, and not always thinking that university is the only route. So, we’ve set up new technical excellence colleges across the country with an intense focus on things like advanced manufacturing, digital, defence, energy – the things that are going to be needed most in the future – with a real sense of excellence there. I have taken down the target of the number that go to university and replaced it with a different target, which is that two thirds of our young people should either go to university or go on high-level skills routes. Now, for anyone going to university – many times I’d wax lyrical about what a difference it made to my life, being the first in my family to go to university. I have not denigrated those who go to university, but I think we’ve overdone it now. I don’t think we’re giving the guidance to those that don’t go to university, who actually are using their brains and their skills in a different way, and there are several young people that felt pushed into university, then after a year or so realised it wasn’t right for them, and ended up doing something else. And then there is prioritising youth apprenticeships, so rather than just all apprenticeships across the board, there is a focus on young people. Then the third pillar, if you like, is the additional support we need to give to those who are not in employment or training or education. Two things I want to highlight here: first is the youth guarantee. Now this helps young people apply for work, helps them with the support they need, but the most important thing is, if after 18 months they’ve still not managed to get a job, there’s a guarantee of a job placement for six months. From previous schemes we know is probably the single most effective way to help people. Just working differently for six months than the cycle they’re in can transform outcomes. And then from tomorrow we’re announcing a £3,000 incentive to businesses to take young people who’ve been out of work for six months and give them a job, on this strong belief that I’ve got, which is if we are able to get people into work, then most of them will actually hold down the job. Some will need more support, but getting that first step into work is critical. So, they’re the three areas I wanted to talk to you about. What I want to make sure is that having put these blocks in place over the last two years, the next stage of this administration, this government, takes that on and builds from there. But what I really want now is to hear from you, and I assume you’re involved in some of the schemes, so where we’ve already got something going, it’d be good to get some first-hand feedback on how it’s working and how we could improve it, because it is crucial that when we say every young person should go as far as their talent and ability will take them, we mean it. And I have a vested interest, I should declare, not just as Prime Minister – I’ve got two teenage children. My son is 18 tomorrow, and therefore these are live discussions in our household. And actually, it’s really interesting to see first-hand the sort of pressures and opportunities that young people actually go through when they’re in their teenage years.
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