Concerns have been raised over whether schools, universities and employers are providing young people with sufficient preparation and support when entering the workforce, according to new research from the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
In a survey of 500 UK workers aged 18–25 across a range of industries, the report found that 31% of young workers have “considered leaving their job because the way it is designed has negatively impacted their health, well-being and ability to contribute effectively”.
A further 12% said that “they have considered leaving the workforce entirely“, with 42% saying that they have left education without an “understanding over workplace health, safety and wellbeing“.
Antonella Semeria (23) and Lewis Gretton (22) expressed to Roar the difficulties they experienced as young workers when making the initial transition from an academic environment into the workplace.
Antonella described her first job, working in a warehouse, as feeling like she had been “dropped in at the deep end of the pool” to be “left splashing about”. She says that she would have benefited from being able to shadow and discuss her role with someone at work.
Antonella also explained how she initially struggled to build the confidence to raise concerns to employers. Lewis told Roar that “you’re sort of told what to do, but not really shown it a lot”.
Speaking to Roar, IOSH’s vice-president, Macauley Quinn, said that the survey’s results have prompted the organisation to explore “how we can collaborate with policymakers and the education system to just try and give young people tools going into the work environment”.
From Mentorship to Employment: Support from Youth Fed
Both Lewis and Antonella then discovered Youth Fed, a UK-based charity that helps ‘over 20,000 young people’ up to the age of 29 navigate the workforce, build connections with job centres as well as prepare for interviews, develop life skills and overcome mental health challenges.
Antonella said that her one-on-one mentor, Michelle Maddox, provided her with amazing support and a much needed “confidence booster”, as well as giving her a better understanding of taxes and helping her to prepare for interviews. Antonella went on to say that Michelle “was such a positive influence on my life at the time. I genuinely don’t think I would have been able to get back into work in the capacity that I have now without her influence, especially the Building Aspirations Programme. That was just like massively eye opening to so much”.
While the funding for Youth Fed’s ‘Talent Match Programme’, where Michelle and Antonella first connected, has since been cut, the charity still offers a range of other support programmes for young people seeking help overcoming mental health challenges and a competitive job market. Roar also heard from Duncan Harrison, a mentor for Youth Fed who emphasised how “It’s all about building competence, getting them ready for work and helping them with their mental health”.
The Potential Implications of IOSH Research for Wider Education Policy
The new IOSH findings, as well as Antonella and Lewis’ personal experiences, prompt us to consider how we can bridge the gap between schools, universities and organisations such as Youth Fed, to better support young people entering the workforce.
Duncan stressed the importance of incorporating financial literacy into the curriculum as well as life skills. Macauley added to this, stating that “For me, it’s soft skills isn’t it? It’s that way to interact. It’s the way to engage. It’s conflict resolution, it’s people feeling confident to be able to have those difficult discussions”. Macauley argues that “Whether it’s incorporating it into the curriculum already, or having a stand alone”, we definitely need to provide young people with these tools.
The interview also raised points over how schools need to recognise individual pupils’ skills and make students aware of the wide range of career pathways available to them after leaving school. Antonella commented on how she felt “pigeonholed” in school, saying that “It felt like they were framing university as the only option to find success…I didn’t feel like there was an opportunity for me to go and do an apprenticeship instead or to pursue my artistic interests. We’re all different people, we all learn in different ways, just because you’re not booksmart doesn’t mean that you’re not an intelligent person, just everyone learns differently”.
Duncan agreed, emphasising the importance of making younger people aware of the apprenticeship pathway and giving “younger people the opportunity to develop life skills”. Duncan argued that “we should be valuing an electrician, the same as a young person with a first in English, for example”, highlighting how as part of his role at Youth Fed he has noticed “more and more university graduates coming to us looking for work”.
What do IOSH findings reveal about how employers can better support young workers?
IOSH research also shows how 34% of participants say that they ‘feel uncomfortable taking full rest breaks and switching off from work outside normal working hours’. This demonstrates the responsibility of employers in addressing young workers’ concerns and promoting a healthy working environment. In regard to workplace wellbeing, the primary strategy of IOSH is to prioritise ‘prevention, not perks’. Macauley explained how this means working proactively to source the root cause of wellbeing issues and making fundamental changes that can prompt “a cultural shift”, as opposed to relying on “reactive interventions” that don’t actually remove the problem. Macauley said that this involves “looking at good job design, looking at a realistic workload, supporting the workforce from the leadership sort of channels as well and being that kind of vocal leader when it comes to wellbeing”.
Final Takeaways
Overall IOSH findings signal that young people need greater guidance over available career pathways and access to a curriculum that not only equips young people with valuable academic skills, but also equips them with equally valuable life skills. Duncan urges an expansion of funding for this additional support for young people, “whether that’s done within a school context, or just after a school context. Because for me, every young person I can support, if I can get them back into the workplace and give them that confidence, it’s a couple of thousand pounds saved on the benefits budget. It’s another young person contributing in tax and stuff like that and more importantly it means that young people feel that they’ve got worth”.
Read more about IOSH’s findings here.
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