New research has claimed young job seekers are caught in a Catch-22 situation, as they are being routinely rejected from jobs that would net them experience - because of a lack of experience.
A new survey from Virgin Media O2 has found that 74% of 25-34-year-olds looking for work in the UK have been turned down from entry-level roles as they don't have the experience necessary.
Over three-quarters (77%) of Brits believe work experience is important even for starter roles, and 72% believe it's harder now to attain such roles than in the past. 64% also believe that job criteria is more strict compared to when they started out.
Losing hope
Over a quarter (28%) of those surveyed believe that without prior experience, it is next to impossible to gain an entry-level job.
Virgin Media O2 believes that the findings help to explain why the number of those Not in Education, Employment, or Training - known as NEETs - has increased by 1.3% year-on-year for those between 16-18 years-old, putting them at the highest level since 2012.
Karen Handley, Head Future Careers at the company, commented, "it’s wrong that many talented young people are being overlooked for entry-level roles because they don’t have prior experience – it’s creating unnecessary barriers for people starting out in their career."
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