John Boumphrey pushes mandatory work experience for over-16s
john boumphrey said work experience should be mandatory for over-16s, arguing that youth unemployment is a system problem rather than a motivation problem. The Amazon UK boss tied that push to a labour market where nearly a million young Britons are not in education, employment or training.
Boumphrey's system response
Boumphrey told the, “We have to stop blaming young people.” He added: “It's not a motivation problem - it's a system problem, and that requires a system response.”
He also said: “I think too often you read about young people that somehow they lack motivation, they lack resilience, they lack the will to develop skills. That is not our experience.” For employers, his case was practical: young people need structured exposure to work before they are expected to fill roles that require teamwork, communication and problem solving.
UK youth unemployment 16.2%
16.2% was the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds earlier this week, the highest since late 2014. The broader UK unemployment rate also rose to 5% in the three months to March from 4.9% in the three months to February, giving Boumphrey's comments a sharper edge.
75,000 people work for Amazon in the UK, and Boumphrey said half of the company’s UK employees come straight from education or unemployment. He said Amazon runs a work experience programme for young people with learning disabilities and autism, and described the impact of that programme by saying, “We work with some individuals who are probably furthest from work and that's where we actually see the biggest transformation,”.
What employers want from schools
Boumphrey said the education system was not producing young people who are ready for work, and said Amazon struggles to recruit workers with the skills it needs. He called for work experience to be mandatory for over-16s, a tougher standard than the Department for Education’s current expectation that post-16 providers offer work experience as part of their funding conditions.
On Tuesday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the current fall in youth employment rates is approaching the decline seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Jane Foley called the 16.2% figure “a horrible number,” and said hospitality jobs have been closing the door on many young people because of minimum wage legislation and technology. Alan Milburn earlier this year called youth unemployment “a social catastrophe, an economic catastrophe and a political catastrophe,” a warning that gives Boumphrey’s proposal added weight.
For school leavers, the issue is no longer only how many jobs exist, but whether the route into them is structured enough to reach over-16s before they leave education. Boumphrey’s proposal puts that responsibility on the system first, and on young people last.
