UCU response to prime minister's plans for NEETs

The union was commenting ahead of a speech by the prime minister where he is expected to outline how young people out of work or training for six months will have to do unpaid community work to receive benefits if his party wins the election.

The union urged the prime minister to read a report carried out by UCU and polling firm ComRes that details how a third of NEETs fear they will never get a job, despite the vast majority of them wanting to work or train.

The survey of more than 1,000 young people from summer 2013 paints a startling picture of the reality of life for young people in England not working or training. While they are a highly diverse group with different needs, the overwhelming majority want to work or study (88%) and over two-thirds (71%) believe they would contribute a lot to society if they got the right support. 

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'David Cameron's plans to force young people into voluntary or community work fundamentally fail to deal with the reasons that so many young people are unable to find work or are not in education and training. Talk about a well-worn path from school gate to Job Centre is as insulting as it is out of touch, and his proposals are all about punishing young people, rather than helping them.

'Polling shows young people desperately want to work, but many fear they never will. What young people need is politicians who have a plan to help them, not subject them to scapegoating. The individual human tragedy is only part of the story as young people outside education or work cost the country millions of pounds every year. We need to give our young people a commitment of proper guidance and stable, properly rewarded jobs, or educational opportunities.'