Universities are part of the solution to the NEETs crisis, v-cs insist

UK universities can help alleviate the high number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs), university leaders have insisted.

Concerns have been raised about the growing number of NEETs amid an increasingly difficult job market, resulting in rising youth unemployment. Alan Milburn’s interim report on young people and work, published on 10 August, found that there are now nearly one million people aged 16 to 24 who fall into the NEET category, among to one in eight in that age group.

That figure was citied in chancellor Jon Healey’s keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

“Potential wasted. Ambition frustrated. Opportunity closed. Signed off, written off. And I know it’s tough for young people today. Some find it hard to face the world," Healey said, announcing £100 million for a Local Apprenticeship Service, under which mayoral teams will work to connect young people with employers and apprenticeship opportunities.

Questions have increasingly been asked of the value of degrees, with so many graduates facing a hostile labour market. But speaking on a panel hosted by ResearchPlus, Kevin Kerrigan, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Hull, said universities were “part of the solution for NEETs, not the problem”. 

Universities do a “huge amount” for their regions, he said.

“Just by delivering their core mission of education, skills, research and innovation, universities play a major part in developing a region’s economy and supporting thriving communities. And I don’t think we should underestimate that,” he said. 

“I do think there is a potential risk if people ask for something different from universities from what they already offer and want them to move away from their core mission because they don’t recognise that in delivering this core mission universities are supporting a thriving town or city.”

But universities should increasingly look to establish a relationship between students, the region and local communities to create a joined up approach to the labour market and regional growth, he added. They could do “much more” by placing regional needs and support for young people as a core “part of their strategy.”

They need to “recognise that their own students and staff are huge assets and potential assets for their community”, he added. This includes instances where university law students, under close supervision, offer free legal advice to members of the public who cannot afford legal fees, for example.

Dave Phoenix, vice-chancellor of the Open University, agreed that universities are “part of the solution”, but said that “we’re never going to get a solution if we break things up into little silos”. 

Instead, it is the “interaction and the ability to facilitate” partnerships where universities can thrive, by creating things like “knowledge transfer partnership, and working with businesses through funded programmes” to create links with businesses. 

But he warned of potential inertia caused by the current funding system.

“I think we need an honest debate about what a future funding model can look like that considers grants, as well as fees, as well as employer contributions. And we also need to ask: what does a future model look like that’s fit for the 21st century?”

Julie Sanders, vice-chancellor at Royal Holloway University of London, argued that universities are vital to understanding the NEET crisis.

NEETs are more likely to suffer from mental health conditions, and universities are “integral” in researching who are more likely to slip into unemployment. That knowledge can then be translated into policy.

She added: “We need to work in the same way so that the young people who are impacted by this problem are threaded throughout our research. Not just as subjects, but built in.”

This can be achieved by ensuring that they are “really involved in the implementation" of projects.

“If you can give young people the voice and capacity, their ability to drive their own change is really strong…It’s really important that we’re hearing those voices. The older version of ‘outreach’ is long gone.” 

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com