Call for more young council employees

7:00am Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News

A CONSERVATIVE councillor has hit out at Thurrock Council for missing its target of ensuring five per cent of its staff are aged between 16 and 24.

The most recent set of census data shows 10 per cent of Thurrock residents are between these ages, but only four per cent of the council’s staff fall into this bracket.

Cllr Charlie Key, who is 23 himself, also questioned whether a target of five per cent is high enough.

He said: “Everybody is concerned about youth unemployment, so the council’s low target is disappointing.

“I am one of several councillors under 24, more than 5 per cent in fact, and I know many young people are passionate about what they do and could drive the council forward if they were part of our staff.

“There is bags of talent in our young people and Thurrock Council is well placed to capitalise.

“We should not be afraid to bang the drum for the young and give them the opportunities they deserve.”

Comments(6)

Dave_ says...
4:56pm Wed 30 Jan 13

It's one way to reduce wage bills.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
5:59pm Wed 30 Jan 13

'Everyone is concerned about youth unemployment.'

Yeah, which is being caused by this nasty, rotten, out of touch, incompetent government.

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ebagumtrebor says...
7:32pm Wed 30 Jan 13

A quick flick through the labour market statistics will show exactly who is responsible for youth unemployment. Guess what, the usual jobs taken by school leavers and students are being taken by someone else. Guess who. Morons

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Dave_ says...
9:25pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Why is youth unemployment so high - many school/college leavers don't really appreciate that they aren't worth that much in the labour market, just like their parents, grandparents etc etc when they first started working.
They are duped by schools and colleges that loads of GCSEs and or A Levels or even a degree make them really employable and earning high salaries.
We've had a few where I work and the work ethic is pretty low, time-keeping and doing what they are supposed to do are not priorities, especially the day to day mundane work. Also they don't like being treated as a junior, like I and others remember. When I started work you did the fetching and carrying and worked your way into the job as you gained experience.
There are other factors like people not retiring so creating spaces to be filled and women returning to work, in many jobs that would be ideal for school leavers.

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Bernard 87 says...
9:56am Thu 31 Jan 13

Not to mention thousands of migrants now competing for the same roles who are more likely to work longer hours for less money.

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PoorFleet says...
11:28am Thu 31 Jan 13

I agree with what Dave has said.

I'm a 24 yr old graduate and fortunate enough to work for a major bank in the city - one of the fiscally responsible ones hehe.

Whilst looking for work and attending interviews I found my competitors to be over confident and self righteous with absolutely no substance.

Schools have a tendency to push a myth that a degree entitles you to £30k+ PA job the moment you leave and so as a result many young people turn up their noses at anything below despite their lack of experience and real life skills.

Many graduates would rather mope about until the dream job turned up rather than getting their hands dirty and starting somewhere.

Can you blame outsiders for taking the jobs that the youth won't accept?

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