Hot HR's Hot Spot is a new and exciting platform for HR professionals to write about HR issues that effect them in their roles from a very real perspective.
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Michael Rabone, HR Manager for The Seafood Restaurant group owned by Rick and Jill Stein in Padstow, Cornwall joins us with his contribution.
Michael is reflecting on the latest issues regarding youth unemployment and explores what businesses can do to combat the challenges facing young people looking for employment opportunities.
"Matters relating to youth employment have been well publicised recently; although this isn’t a particularly new concept, it is certainly a growing concern that needs our collective support.
I’ll never forget the feeling of disappointment when I received a call from the Department for Work and Pensions in late 2009 to let us know that we were unable to take part in their latest work placement initiative. We were informed that we’d need to create at least thirty new roles (equating to around 10% of our headcount at the time), something that left me wondering how a business like ours, in a fairly remote area of North Cornwall, could contribute to an increasing regional and national challenge if our offer of support was effectively being turned down.
As a fast-growing organisation, the expectations were too great and the scale of the project wasn’t something that we would have been capable of managing at the time. Not to be deterred, we felt too strongly to let such an important initiative fall by the wayside. Having unpicked the tangled web that is the local authority, we became part of a larger, collective bid to offer opportunities to young people and two years on we’ve developed a much greater understanding of the complexity surrounding youth unemployment.
It became abundantly clear that an initiative involving an incredibly diverse group of young people with varying needs, party politics, public money and economic instability was a recipe for satisfaction, life changing opportunities, numerous challenges and the occasional disappointment and frustration. It is evident that there is no quick fix for what appears to be a problem that isn’t going to go away without some form of intervention.
A recent invitation to meet with Iain Duncan Smith (Secretary of State) as part of a round table discussion about supporting youth employment provided an opportunity to take stock of our experience in an attempt to rationalise exactly what is required to combat this challenge moving forward; it quickly became apparent that businesses have not been effectively engaged to understand what they can do to help.
Sadly the constitution of the group was reflective of many other round table discussions about employment and skills; numerous providers and public sector bodies and less than adequate representation from business, something that left me wondering whether we could do more as employers or whether the huge cross section of providers that approach us asking for support have done more harm than good?
I’ve reflected on the discussion and it is now becoming clear what is required; as businesses we’re in a very strong position to let young people know what is required when applying for roles. We can also provide encouragement and confidence to re-energise the individuals that may have struggled to find employment and to help them build confidence. These are things that we may sometimes take for granted in our quest to find outstanding talent for our business; perhaps we need to do more to nurture and develop that talent, finding potential amongst young people that haven’t yet had the opportunity to show what they can do.
Running a work club to help individuals to prepare for work with Job Centre plus or helping with mock interviews would make a difference; offering work experience or providing time to provide your observations as an employer would be equally beneficial. As the above are things that we are generally accustomed to in the day to day running of our businesses, I’ve been surprised how little of my time has been allocated to supporting youth employment and how effective the outcomes have been. I’m not always swayed by statistics, yet the feedback that businesses involved in youth employment have found the process worthwhile, versus the feedback that those not involved perceive youth employment as a difficult and time consuming exercise, comes as no real surprise given the stereotypes that are sometimes associated with young people.
I recognise that there will be questions about what is in it for us as employers and it is important that we understand the potential benefits of offering support. Apart from the softer benefits such as the positive impact on individual lives and demonstrating social responsibility for our local communities, I have been delighted with the loyalty that young people have reciprocated and the fact that we’ve found individuals with great potential that only needed opportunity and encouragement.
We often refer back to the fact that we were all given an opportunity to demonstrate our potential and I am aware of a number of fantastic examples of businesses and individuals that have achieved incredible results. I wonder how much we could collectively achieve if we were to get involved in one initiative to support young people?"
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