“Still work to do”:Jenny Halpern Prince of Access Aspiration
(Picture: )Many young people are in the middle of an escalating mental health emergency and are “paralysed” by anxiety and fearful of the future, a landmark report has warned.
Stark findings from a major annual survey of young people show that self-belief is at an all-time low and young people’s mental health is reeling from Covid lockdowns, the cost of living crisis and political uncertainty.
It comes as the Evening Standard launches its Step Up initiative, which aims to help the next generation of Londoners deal with the challenges they are under — particularly involving their education.
It aims to inspire young Londoners, guide them through education and career choices, and support their well-being, with a new online education channel launched on the Evening Standard website on Tuesday.
A Step Up Expo at London Olympia in February will give parents and young people the chance to speak directly to teachers and get expert advice on applications to school, college, university, work-related training and apprenticeships.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “It is fantastic to see the Evening Standard launch Step Up to help inspire young Londoners tothink about their futures in new and positive ways. Many young Londoners face challenges — from strains on their mental health owing to the difficulties of the last two years, to the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis — and we all have a role to play in helping them to make positive choices and reach their potential.”
Data from the Youth Voice Census 2022 — the biggest survey of young people in the UK — shows young people do not feel prepared for their futures and are “immobilised with fear”, raising concerns that they are putting off crucial life decisions. The survey of more than 4,000 young people found:
•More than half said their anxiety was the biggest barrier to finding work.
•Confidence in applying for jobs has dropped, with just 44.6 per cent thinking they can write a CV.
•Almost one third of young people in work said they struggled with their well-being compared to 29 per cent last year.
•Young people of every age said they were lonely and had concerns about making and keeping friends after connections were lost in the pandemic.
Laura-Jane Rawlings, CEO of Youth Employment UK, which carries out the census of young people every year, said: “There can be no doubt that we are in the midst of an escalating mental health emergency. Young people are feeling debilitated by the mental health challenges they experience and cannot get the help they need.
“The impact of Covid, the cost of living crisis, and the uncertainty of political tensions here and abroad come on top of the pressure cooker that young people live in, with anxiety relating to education success, social pressures, and making the right decisions about their futures.” She added: “The huge data set we have gathered this year is a clear and stark warning that we have to be more ambitious for our young people and we have to act now.”
Responding to the report, Jim Minton, chief executive of the Mayor’s Fund for London, said: “Too many young Londoners from communities facing disadvantage do not have the networks or opportunities to access work experience, and don’t get the support they need to help them take the first steps in their future careers.”
The Youth Voice Census, in which more than 4,000 people aged 11 to 30 took part, concluded that young people are “absolutely overwhelmed…more than ever before and at an even greater scale.” Ms Rawlings said: “Anxiety is paralysing young people and stopping them from taking their next steps. There is a compounding sense that everything is doom and gloom. There is so much opportunity yet our young people are feeling so disconnected from that positivity.”
Snapshot interviews with some of the young Londoners who took part in the census found they do not feel that the opportunities in London are open to them.
The report said: “They feel that their lack of formal qualifications, work experience, the way they speak, how they dress and where they come from make it difficult for them to make the most of the opportunities available.”
Access Aspiration, a Mayor’s Fund for London programme, is attempting to address some of these problems by creating links between young Londoners looking for work and employers.
Jenny Halpern Prince, who set up the organisation 10 years ago, said: “There is still a considerable job to be done to increase the social mobility of students within the state and academy sector, helping them to connect with employers by arming them with the skills and experience they need.
“The pandemic has hit disadvantaged students the most and, with the cost of living crisis, it is vital that businesses support the workforce of tomorrow more than ever.”
