It’s enough to make anyone want to throw in the towel:
“The economic outlook is worse than the Great Depression, the downturn has been faster than the financial crisis, and people are feeling more scared than in the aftermath of 9/11”, said one panellist at the recent Prince’s Trust’s Global Leadership Lunch.
As the UK splinters in its approach to lockdown, with bars, restaurants and cafes closing their doors and university students locked up, you could forgive young people in particular for wanting to go back to bed, pull their duvet over their heads and wake up again in five years’ time.
It’s been a tragic year for so many reasons, but most discomforting is the fact that disadvantaged communities will be hit the hardest, whether by businesses and industries shutting down, widening attainment gaps between rich and poor children as the education system stutters, or inequitable access to technology.
Understandably, young people across the country are feeling bereft. And it’s not just due to the restrictions on their lives. It’s because of the insistence that their future is dire. A recent report by The Prince’s Trust and Censuswide revealed a staggering 44% of young people aged between 16-24 say their aspirations are now lower due to the pandemic, meanwhile 41% have said their future goals “now seem impossible to achieve”. This number rises to 50% for those surveyed from poorer backgrounds.
But as an advocate for the great work of The Prince’s Trust, who have supported over 1 million young people into work, further education or to start their own business since the charity’s inception in 1976, I would contend that there is hope. To highlight the work of the Prince’s Trust, last week we brought together global leaders from major businesses, including Unilever and McKinsey, to debate the future of capitalism and how to make sure young people continue to prosper. And we agreed that, for all the doom and gloom, there is plenty of positivity emanating from the crisis too. We just need to talk about it.
As the Government seeks to level up the country, the crisis has precipitated a levelling down of hierarchies. Once absent leaders are being forced to communicate in a way that they haven’t before and show vulnerability in the face of an unpredictable future. Organisations big and small have innovated in how they sell their products and prioritise their colleagues. Meanwhile start-ups continue to emerge despite the uncertainty gripping the nation. This all represents opportunity for young people.
So, while it is right that government intervention takes place to prevent a “tsunami of job losses”, whether it be the Kickstart Scheme or the Scottish Government’s Job Guarantee Scheme, there must be an equal emphasis on innovation within the private sector. Research from the Prince’s Trust has found that 52% of young people believe lockdown has made them more resilient. That strength of will can be a real asset to industry.
With more than 500,000 young people already unemployed in the UK, now is the time for the Government and business to get behind organisations like The Prince’s Trust who mentor young people and equip them with the skills they need to set up their own business. This crisis does not have to mean a lost generation.
The priority for government and businesses must be to encourage and support young people to be ambitious, to be entrepreneurial through the economic downturn, and most importantly to never give up. We could all do well to remember John F. Kennedy’s remarks on an old Chinese proverb, “The Chinese use two brushstrokes for crisis: in a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognise the opportunity.”
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