Stephen Williams speaks in a forum event about young people in the recession
February 25, 2010 10:34 AM
Stephen Williams meets with young people from Bristol to discuss youth unemployment
On Wednesday 24th February Stephen Williams MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Innovation, Universities & Skills, met with young people from Bristol who have been affected by the recession to listen to their experiences and speak about how the Liberal Democrats would tackle the issue of NEETs (people not in education, employment or training).
The event, hosted by the Universities & Colleges Union, which represents 120,000 educators in post-16 education, took the form of a question and answer session with young people from around the country being given the opportunity to ask MPs from the three main political parties about how they would help young people who have struggled during the recession.
Among the audience were two people from Bristol, who asked Stephen about funding for further and higher education.
Young people have borne the brunt of the recession. The number of young people who have been unemployed for six months has doubled in the last two years and the unemployment rate among 18 to 24-year-olds is now in excess of 17%, with 40% of the total number of unemployed people being accounted for by 16 to 24-year-olds. The number of people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) is now heading towards one million.
The Liberal Democrats believe that we need emergency measures to help the young unemployed, whatever their skill set might be. Through a comprehensive economic stimulus and job creation package, the Liberal Democrats would invest almost £900 million in increasing the number of further education places, giving students financial support to return to college and creating a paid internship scheme. There should be a 90-day promise, so that no young person should be unemployed for more than 90 days before they are able to get training, education, an internship or a place on a work program.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats
-
Help out or donate
-
Tell us what you think