The problem of graduate unemployment hasn’t gone away

Graduate unemployment is affecting thousands of young people around the UK, here Young Fabian member Benjamin Knight argues that young people biding their time as interns should not be taken advantage of whilst waiting for a ‘proper’ job…

Graduate unemployment is still a chronic problem in the UK but seems to have dropped down on the governments to do list. Current figures show that a shocking one in four graduates is unemployed. Given the rising trend in graduates opting to do internships, often unpaid, the true figure of graduates not earning is surely much higher. If left alone, the consequences will be dire for all.

Heading off to University in 2005 I felt many things – optimistic, nervous, excited and even lucky. Lucky because I was going to university the year before tuition fees were raised, so I thought I was quids in. Fast-forward three years (and my how they flew!) I then had the pleasure of graduating at the height of a global recession. Naturally this has made me rethink my previous good fortune.

The job market for today’s graduates can be a rather cruel place. Not only are graduates competing with each other, but the recession has forced experienced workers to take demotions or go after the lower paid/entry level positions – positions that would otherwise be going to graduates. This is likely to become much worse after the Coalition has taken its axe to public sector jobs in October, and further benefit reductions could hurt those on Jobseeker’s Allowance, already doing everything they can to try and find work.

Recently I have noticed that whilst there are lots of good jobs to apply for, the level of competition is staggering – it is not uncommon to be competing against up to 250 other applicants for a single position. From the employers view, this makes replying to each candidate and keeping them informed of their success or otherwise practically impossible, and as a result it is very unlikely that an individual’s application is ever even acknowledged. This constant experience of being ignored or rejected can make the whole process of applying for a job quite disheartening.

The difficulties of the job market as it stands have lead to a rise in graduates opting to do internships, often for free and for long periods of time. Whilst this can be a great way for people to gain coveted ‘office experience’ and certainly helps when it comes to writing your CV or covering letters, they are not always the first step on the employment ladder that many perceive them to be. One of the biggest problems is the actual cost of undertaking an internship, in terms of travel, accommodation, food etc. If you are lucky enough to have friends or family in a big city, then this can help negate the cost of doing an internship, but to those who do not, an unpaid internship is simply not a viable opportunity.

Other problems arise when keen, bright interns are asked to do anything and everything their employer tells them to. The lack of a proper job description means that interns are treated poorly or are under utilized by their employers, and they have little ground to make a complaint and so just go along with it, making coffee with a very forced smile.

Whilst we patiently await George Osborne’s miraculous private sector growth spurt, which we are assured will more than compensate for the thousands of public sector job losses, I feel that the government could be acting to protect the rights of interns, and actively helping to improve prospects for unemployed graduates. Firstly, I feel that interns should be paid a minimum wage for their labour (or better yet a living wage, as proposed by Labour leadership candidate Ed Miliband), as this would open up access to internships to the less well off. Secondly, employers should be encouraged to give each intern they employ a clear job description outlining their rights and responsibilities, as this would help stop people being taken advantage of.

There are real dangers associated with the current state of youth unemployment, not least in the form of a brain drain as people begin to look abroad in search of better prospects. The current stigmatisation by the Tories and the right wing press of people on benefits is also seemingly gaining ground, and I patiently look to Labour’s new leader to both defend these people , some of society’s most vulnerable, and to provide a clear and practical solution to the tough situation many have found themselves in recent years.

Healey says Young Fabians ‘Labour’s future’

Our new members’ reception last night followed some work at Labour HQ ringing first time voters ahead of the – now very near – general election.

Guest speaker was Rt Hon John Healey MP, Cabinet minister for housing and planning. After taking his turn trying to sell fundraising raffle tickets, Healey highlighted the Young Fabians’ span of appeal and the ‘fresh energy’ we bring with our ‘combination of organisation and ideology’.

His view that it’s not what Labour has done but ‘why we’ve done it’ that matters is sound. So we’re about more than just managing Britain through global recession: we’re about a focus on people – their lives, their jobs, their homes, and their families. Which is how, despite a deeper recession, we’ve seen half the business failures experienced in the previous recession during the last Tory government.

He ended with a question, perhaps a challenge. It came from a constituent of his in a supermarket in his south Yorkshire seat: “Mr Healey, Mr Healey – what are you doing to keep the Tories out?”

This is about taking responsibility and doing something. We win the trust, respect and support of people by – as Healey said – combining our ideas and our action. Labour can play to the strengths of its leadership here. It’s not polished presentation that is craved but it is principled action that people see missing elsewhere. As one first time voter, a 20-year-old female studying an FE course, told me on the phone tonight, “Get off my telly, Cameron – why as an MP aren’t you doing something for the country?”

Listen to a podcast of John Healey’s speech plus comments from Young Fabian members at tonight’s reception here.