How planners can help tackle youth unemployment

It seems as if barely a day goes by without new statistics being published about the country’s economic troubles. Of course, some of these figures have to be taken with a pinch of salt, and are often the result of sketchy research by consultancies hunting the headlines.

That said, the official unemployment numbers have certainly captured my attention. Perhaps the most concerning trend is that youth unemployment is now just below 1 million, its highest level since records began in 1992.

So what’s the answer? Clearly, there isn’t a simple one, but placing an emphasis on training and apprenticeships surely has to be part of the bigger solution. Over recent decades, initiatives like the National Apprenticeships Service have started to make a difference, but some industries simply still aren’t offering enough opportunities.

Construction is an intriguing example. The industry has traditionally struggled to invest effectively in skills and training, partly due to being a very mobile and segmented industry. It’s particularly high levels of sub-contracting and self-employment, also make it hard to coordinate apprenticeship programmes.

As a result, the art of ‘white vanning’ has prevailed, with imported labour from within the UK or abroad filling the skills gap on local developments. With youth unemployment rising, this is a missed opportunity for many parts of the UK.

In Northamptonshire, we’ve been nurturing a unique solution to the problem. Construction Futures is a ground-breaking training programme that secures training placements and apprenticeships through the planning system.

When a planning application is made, it forecasts how many training placements and apprenticeships could be supported on the development, as well as the trades they would cover. These opportunities are then agreed with developers and embedded in the legal agreements tied to any planning permission. And crucially, the Construction Futures team works with contractors and local colleges to supply site ready trainees for the new developments.

This approach is not an entirely new idea. Most local authorities have a long standing ambition to secure training and employment opportunities through the planning system. However, this scheme is the first to turn policy into action.

The initiative has already delivered over 65 training placements and apprenticeships in West Northamptonshire and has many more in the pipeline. Obviously, it has only made a small dent in unemployment figures so far, but the implications are huge. With its intelligent use of the planning system, Construction Futures has the potential to be adopted by local authorities nationwide.