Young long-term jobless ‘must acquire work ethic’ says employer

Will Davies – a noted employer in the building sector – says that instilling a "work ethic and providing quality training" are key to putting the next generation to work.

Labour have announced that, if they are in power in 2015, those who are unemployed and lack the essential maths and English skills must undergo training or face having their benefits stripped.

Will Davies, a former banker, now successful property entrepreneur, and a long-term campaigner for apprenticeships and further training for the young unemployed, agrees with Labour but says that more must be done to encourage people to undertake quality apprenticeships.

“At the moment, if an eastern European is interviewed for a job and he has completed a full trade apprenticeship abroad, as many of them have, they are a more attractive prospect to employers,” said Davies.

“However, we have found that the willingness to work demonstrated by migrant workers has had a beneficial effect on British youngsters.”

“It is essential that employers are granted the power to design apprenticeships for young people. Employers know the skills they require and therefore they know the skills that are employable,” Davies added.

“Generations of employment schemes have failed young workers. Civil servants and outside training agencies (although undoubtedly well meaning) have failed to produce youngsters with employable skills.

“Employers such as aspect.co.uk have campaigned for years to be given access to the apprenticeship purse strings. It is all very well for Labour to call for government to work with companies to employ more ‘local’ workers but first we have to equip them with employable skills,” said Davies.

“More than 20% of the under 24 year-olds in this country are without employment or training at the moment and becoming more and more alienated by the job market. That is a dire situation: no country can hope to return itself to a sound financial footing if it alienates 20% of its future workforce.”

As of April 2014, individuals who are unable to find work through the Work Programme will have to report to their Job Centres on a daily basis and engage in community work or compulsory training if they are not to lose their benefits.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "We are saying there is no option of doing nothing for your benefits, no something for nothing any more. People are going to have to do things to get their dole and that is going to help them into work.

"There needs to be a bit of tough love... to fix the problem of endemic joblessness.

"No-one will be ignored or left without help. But no-one will get something for nothing,” Osborne said.

“The chancellor is quite right to try and stamp out the ‘something for nothing’ culture prevalent amongst the long-term unemployed but it is equally important to upgrade the training opportunities we can offer them,” concluded Davies.

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