A recent report showed 41.6% of young Black people between the ages of 16-24 are unemployed – the highest rate since the last financial crisis, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. Young black workers have been hit disproportionately hard during the pandemic - three times worse than white workers of the same age.
It is a huge understatement to say that COVID has exacerbated many issues for young people in Tottenham that existed prior to the pandemic. The pandemic has made it more difficult for young people to find employment and stay in their jobs for the long-term. While some sectors (e.g retail and hospitality) have suffered major losses in staff, new modern sectors (e.g. digital technology and banking) are booming but are far out of reach for the young people in Tottenham. The stakes to get a job in these sectors, as a young person, have skyrocketed in the past decade. The modern job market is changing as a result of the pandemic and many young people do not know how to navigate around an already competitive job market, despite being apprentices and graduates. They do not have the crucial guidance and mentoring that will help them to keep up with the changing job market and to make the right steps in their career. More broadly, many young people in the BAME community in this local area do not have role models who are successful and have made their careers in Tottenham.
I believe that more work can be done to support secondary state schools in delivering career-based programmes. For example, in 2019, 22% of year 11 students from Harris Academy Tottenham and 20% of year 11 students from Greig City Academy achieved a grade 5 or above in GCSE English & Maths. This is in stark contrast to schools in the west of the borough such as Highgate School, where students achieving level 5 and above in GCSE English & Maths was 97%. This low GCSE attainment in east Haringey’s secondary schools increases the chances of students dropping out of full-time education by the end of year 11 and they become at risk of long-term unemployment. In April 2020, Haringey Council’s state of the borough report found attainment to be particularly low for black males who come from Caribbean and African ethnic backgrounds and those students who live in the east of the borough. These issues highlight the need of the government and local councils to have more of a positive influence on the young people who come from disadvantaged neighbourhoods such as Tottenham.
The team at RISE Projects have previously worked with three secondary schools including Heartlands High School, Woodside High School and Park View Academy in Haringey to deliver mentoring workshops to the students there who are at risk of dropping out of education. We wish to expand on the work we have done with secondary schools so far and recommence this initiative as we feel many GCSE students and teenagers have lost touch with their purpose of going to school as a result of the pandemic and school closures.
More recently, we have started a new DWP funded employability programme to support young BAME NEETs into work to ensure they are supported to overcome the issue of youth unemployment in Haringey and beyond. This programme which supports those furthest away from the employment market, will provide much needed mentoring and personal development opportunities for young people in Tottenham to improve their life outcomes.
According to the ONS in May 2021, 3085 18 – 24 year olds in the Haringey borough were on unemployment benefits from the DWP. Out of 32 London Boroughs, Haringey was in the top 8 for the number of 18 – 24 year olds on unemployment benefits in May 2021.
Youth unemployment is one of the great challenges of our times, and the most recent IES labour market analysis shows that 60% of the fall in employment is due to fewer young people being in work, while benefit claims among under 25s have risen by 125%, with one-in-seven young people now claiming benefits. Young people are in fact 2.5 times more likely to be working in the sectors most affected by the pandemic and there are increasing fears that a further 500,000 to 600,000 among them could become unemployed this year. Urgent investment in youth employment and engagement is needed that will support the needs of young people and a competitive and successful UK economy.
Written by Naseem Hossen, Research Officer at RISE Projects