NUT: Youth unemployment is a blight on our society
Commenting after the debate on Motion 35, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers? union, said;
?Youth unemployment is a blight on our society. For one in five young people aged 16-24 who are not in full-time education to be unemployed is a shocking waste of talent. This is nothing short of the abandonment of a generation.
?Unemployment, poverty and urban deprivation are closely linked. Young people without educational qualifications or with few qualifications are four times more likely to be out of work than those with degrees. The NUT demands improved educational opportunities, the restoration of the EMA and free higher education so that degrees are not the preserve of the wealthy and privileged.
?We are calling for many more apprenticeships, all of them paying at least the minimum wage and for increased public spending to create jobs. Our young people are our society?s future. They have a right to jobs with proper contracts and at proper wage levels. We need to develop the skills of young people for the sake of our economic future.?
END pr48-2012
For further details contact Caroline Cowie on 0207 380 4706 or 07879480061
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