Last week I was at AV Dawson’s Staiths building at the Port of Middlesbrough, with a group of business leaders and local employers to listen to the Tees Maritime Youth Board.
For months, Ella, Lucy, Danny, Marissa, Harriet and Theo - as Tees Maritime Youth Board members - have been examining what it’s actually like to look for work in 2025. They’re heading to Downing Street in June to present their findings to government, but wanted to stress-test them with employers too (a huge thank you to Jo Vinton-Bullwinkel at Tees Maritime for bringing us together).
I attended the discussion with two hats, both as Director of Pickering Lifts and Chairman of the Jobs Foundation North East. What the six young people had to say was uncomfortable, but at the same time deeply insightful. What became very clear is that most young people aren’t disengaged, they are just frustrated, and perhaps rightly so.
They spoke of submitting countless applications but being met with silence from employers – no feedback, not even any acknowledgment that their application had been received. They spoke of job adverts on sites like Indeed that don’t exist on company websites when they follow up. They spoke about having to complete in-tray exercises or other tasks that, once completed, were completely ignored.
They told us that interview questions like “tell me about yourself” feel meaningless, too broad and disconnected from the actual role. We were told careers fairs are a complete waste of time, with the only takeaways being a couple of leaflets and a free pen instead of helpful advice and guidance. And the Board felt that career progression in many workplaces is still based on age or tenure rather than ability and attitude.
How to solve these problems? The Youth Board has some answers. Advertise salary, hours, and location upfront. Better allow candidates to express interest in their own words rather than through just a CV. Makes interviews conversational. If you set a task, ensure it’s relevant to the role and that it serves a purpose. Whenever possible, provide personalised feedback to candidates throughout the recruitment process. And make new and junior staff feel part of something rather than just a pair of replaceable hands.
Food for thought for all employers. I think any way forward has to be collaborative and joined-up; Government needs to make it easier for businesses to employ young people, and businesses need to make some changes so that young people don’t feel disenfranchised when they’re applying for jobs.
A huge well done to the Youth Board for their findings.
