Children from poorer families face a significant employment gap between themselves and their better off peers after they leave school – and getting good exam results does little to change it.
A youth jobs gap between rich and poor has been identified by charity Impetus in a report examining the effect inequality has on children’s outcomes.
Analysts found that one in four young people in England who were eligible for free school meals were not in education, employment or training (NEETs) after leaving school. This is 26 per cent of those on free school meals.
Impetus CEO Andy Ratcliffe said youth employment has “disappeared from the front pages and politicians’ list of priorities”.
He also hit out at the idea that “youth unemployment is yesterday’s problem” – “it isn’t”.
Ratcliffe added: “The optimistic surface covers worrying depths.
“Those young people who are what we call doubly disadvantaged – from disadvantaged backgrounds and with low qualifications – are being left behind. And, even where young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get good qualifications, they are still much more likely to be out of education and employment in their early adulthood than someone with the same exam results but from a wealthier family.”
The report showed marked regional differences – with a young person in the North East is 50 per cent more likely to be a NEET than someone who lives in London.
And crucially, the charity emphasised that high exam results could not be used to explain this away as young people from poorer backgrounds still achieve less even with good qualifications.
