CIPD comments on Government plans to expand work experience opportunities for young people

CIPD comments on Government plans to expand work experience opportunities for young people

Commenting on the Government’s plans to expand work experience opportunities, Jackie Orme, Chief Executive at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said:

“Young people have fared poorly in the recent recession and are likely to remain at the back of the hiring queue if they don’t have the opportunities to train and gain work experience.  Our research shows employers are reluctant to hire from groups where they feel basic job skills, experience and reliability are lacking.  Work experience is a perfect way to break the vicious circle of no experience/no job, and give young people an opportunity to develop and demonstrate the skills and commitment employers need.  We’re committed to working with government to make a success of efforts to get more people off welfare and back into work, and I urge CIPD members to go out of their way to make use of this new work experience matching service that the Government and Jobcentre Plus have unveiled today.”

The CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook recently found that:

16% of employers exclude 19-24 year olds with few or no qualifications from the recruitment process

A further 4% exclude people with a history of long-term unemployment

Younger workers with no qualifications and those with a history of long-term unemployment are deemed to perform worse than other employees.