The recession may be over (just) and apprenticeships on the rise but job satisfaction remains low for some young workers.
The official GDP figures show the UK economy grew 0.1% in the last three months of 2009, ending the longest recorded downturn.
In the central London Connexions area the same quarter finally saw an increase in vacancies for young people (compared to the same period in 2008). July to August had been the third quarter in a row, year on year opportunity numbers have decreased.
However, central London is still struggling when compared to the rest of the capital. Across London boroughs, an average of six new vacancies per month with CLC boroughs averaging five. Central London boroughs were particularly hit badly by the recession, but have not matched the recovery in vacancies in London as a whole. Connexions vacancies throughout London increased by 37% in the last quarter of 2009 compared to 2008. Central London vacancies increased, but by only 29%.
On a more positive note, the drive to expand apprenticeships seems to be having an effect. Apprenticeship numbers across London are generally about 300% up on last year. Looking at the CLC area there has been a fairly consistent supply of apprenticeship vacancies with boroughs receiving an average of 12 notifications for the last quarter of 2009 (compared to a London borough average of six). CLC Apprenticeships are up 400% on last year. Westminster have received the most notifications, and the launch of the London Apprenticeship Company is partly behind this, but all boroughs have seen an increase in apprenticeship numbers. Vacancies from the National Apprenticeship Service website are now also being input on the Choice Jobs site and have a high proportion of admin and hospitality vacancies in the West End.
Apprenticeship Vacancies Per-Borough
But it is not all good news. A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found “plummeting'' job satisfaction and falling standards of living in research among 2,000 workers. Dissatisfaction was particularly common among young workers.
Claire McCartney of the CIPD said:
''Job satisfaction among young people has been decimated by this recession. The fact they've grown up in an era of plenty, and have not seen anything like this before, may well partly explain why they're so much unhappier than their older colleagues. The lack of opportunities to learn new skills or make their first steps up the career ladder is also likely to be grinding them down. The stagnant labour market means people are not moving on and up as they would like, leaving many young people stranded in entry-level jobs.''
The predominance of apprenticeship vacancies in central London should increase the opportunities to learn new skills. However, the tendency for understandably cost-conscious employers to stick to the minimum £95 per week is unlikely to alter the fact that “fewer than one in ten people believe their standard of living has improved in recent months.”
Trevor Bottomley
Employment & Labour Market Adviser
Central London Connexions
February 2010