The launch of the Good Youth Employment Campaign

As we see youth unemployment levels rise, the challenge ahead for young people is becoming clear. Coronavirus continues to challenge the way we live and work and young people as a group face the biggest employment impact. Those furthest from the labour market are disportionately affected widening gaps in our communities.

And whilst the Opportunity Guarantee and investment in the #planforjobs including Kickstart and increased incentives around apprenticeships is welcome the focus is rightly shifting to the quality of those opportunities. 

Young people are going to need the government, employers and providers to make a gigantic effort to develop the volume of quality opportunities they need. This is why Youth Employment UK and its network of Ambassadors and partners are leading a campaign for Good Youth Employment and calling on businesses to create more quality opportunities for young people. 

In order to support the development of these opportunities Youth Employment UK are making access to the Youth Friendly Employer Badge and the support that goes with it free of charge. Organisations who support, develop or employ young people can now apply for the free Youth Friendly Employer Badge and identify themselves as organisations committed to good quality youth employment. Alongside access to the free Youth Friendly Employer Badge organisations will also be able to access the plethora of support and insight from Youth Employment UK to help them embed the principles of Good Youth Employment.

Organisations can join Youth Employment UK’s campaign, access the campaign pack

Youth Employment UK’s CEO Laura-Jane Rawlings:

“Making access to the Youth Friendly Employer Badge and the support that comes with it free of charge was an easy decision to make. We were established in 2012 following the last youth unemployment crisis and it is our core mission to support young people not in education, employment or training and tackle youth unemployment. Making it as easy for employers and the organisations that support them to understand and be recognised for their quality opportunities is going to be an essential part of the recovery.”

The benefits…

The wide-ranging benefits of the Youth Friendly Employer Badge include:

To apply for the Youth Friendly Employer Badge an organisation must first agree to work towards the Principles of Good Youth Employment, as outlined in the Good Youth Employment Charter.

Organisations will be able to join the likes of Coca-Cola European Partners, St. James’ Place, Prezzo, McDonalds and a number of SME’s, youth organisations and providers in a community effort to create and be recognised for their youth friendly employment opportunities.

These 5 Principles were first developed by Youth Employment UK and its network of young people and partners in 2012 and have recently been reviewed as part of the work of the Youth Employment Group who have supported the development of the Good Youth Employment Charter Toolkit.

The 5 Principles

Find out more about the Principles of Good Youth Employment and sign up to the Youth Friendly Employer Badge here.