Final Report for the SEQUAL Development Partnership

Can’t Work, Won’t Work:

Young People, Older Workers
and the Labour Market

Part I
Youth, Discrimination and the Labour Market:
Problem or Stereotype?
Belinda Freda
University of Surrey

Part II
People aged 50 and above in the Glasgow area
Dr Pamela Clayton
University of Glasgow

September 2005
Published in the UK in September 2005 by

The SEQUAL Development Partnership (DP)

Department of Political, International & Policy Studies
Division of Law and Politics
School of Arts, Communication and Humanities
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7XH
UK

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/politics/cse/sequal.htm

© The SEQUAL DP and individual authors

ISBN 0-904242-57-9
CONTENTS

The SEQUAL Development Partnership (DP) 1

PART I - Youth, Discrimination and the Labour Market:

Problem or Stereotype?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH

1.1 Research Methodology 4
1.2 The Generation Game 8
1.3 Policy Discrimination and ‘Deviant’ Stereotypes 10

2 OVERVIEW OF ISSUES
2.1 Young People and the Labour Market : Statistical Overview 13
2.2 Young People in the Changing Labour Market 17
2.3 Skills Shortages and Gaps 20
2.4 The New Deal for Young People 21
2.5 Connexions 23
2.6 14-19 Pathfinders 24
2.7 14-19 Reform 24
2.8 Higher Education 25
2.9 The ‘Burden of Opportunity’ 27
2.10 How Soon is Now? - Achieving ‘Life Statuses’ 30

3 RESEARCH
3.1 Questionnaires 32
3.2 Young people and Youth ‘Experts’ 33
3.3 Employment 34
3.4 Spheres of Influence and Stakeholder Responsibility 35
3.5 Employability – ‘Attributes’ 37
3.6 Needs– ‘Empowerment Indicators’ – Projects and Programmes 39
3.7 Discrimination and Diversity 41

4 OTHER ISSUES
4.1 Health 43
4.2 Geographical Isolation and Spatial Inequalities 45
4.3 Language 46
4.4 Citizenship and Participation 47

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 49

ANNEX 1 52
ANNEX 2 57
ANNEX 3 58
ANNEX 4 60
ANNEX 5 62
ANNEX 6 65
ANNEX 7 66
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY 67
 PART II - People aged 50 and above in the Glasgow
area
Executive summary……………………………………………………………. 72

Introduction: employability and discrimination ……………………………… 74

The philosophy of employability……………………………………….. 74
The notion of the 'employable' worker………………………………… 75
Discrimination: the business case? …………………………………… 76
Discrimination: the cost ………………………………………………… 77
Conclusion: the relationship between employability
and discrimination ………………………………………………………. 77

1 The research……………………………..…………………………………… 78

2 Quantitative research: a statistical summary of the labour market

situation of people aged 50 and above, with particular reference to
Glasgow City…………………………………………………………………...… 79
2.1 The economic activity of older people in the United Kingdom ... 79
2.2 A comparison between Scotland and the rest of the United
Kingdom …………………………………………………………………. 80
2.3 The economic activity of older people in Glasgow ……………… 81

3 Selected literature: older people in and out of the UK labour market…. 83

3.1 Unemployment and economic inactivity in later years ………….. 83
3.2 Who leaves early, who stays on and why? ………………………. 84
3.2.1 The role of qualifications…………………………………………. 85
3.2.2 Leisure and caring responsibilities ……………………………… 85
3.2.3 Health……………………………………………………………….. 85
3.2.4 Class ……………………………………………………………….. 86
3.2.5 Discrimination in employment …………………………………… 86

4 Qualitative research: Older people and the labour market: the real lives
behind the statistics …………………………………………………………….. 88
4.1 Being excluded - four case studies ……………………………….. 91
4.2 Early exit on health grounds - eight case studies ……………….. 95
4.3 Early exit through choice? - seven case studies ………………… 99
4.4 Staying on or returning despite illness - four case studies …..... 102
4.5 Happy workers - five case studies …………………………………104
4.6 Struggling on? - five case studies ……………………………….…106

5 Examples of good practice …………………………………….…………...108

Conclusions: older people in the Glasgow City labour market ……….… 110

Bibliography: Age discrimination in the United Kingdom labour market.....111

Appendix 1: Shortened version of Interview schedule

used in the Learning …………………………………………………………….113
SEQUAL Development Partnership (DP)
The SEQUAL project was funded through the European Social Fund under the
‘employability’ strand of the Community Initiative EQUAL Programme. The SEQUAL
DP was made up of 8 HEIs across the UK, and was research based (rather than
beneficiary or service focused), making it unique among EQUAL Round I DPs (2001-
2005). Each partner undertook local ‘bottom-up’ research, leading on at least one
‘theme’ or area of discrimination. These themes, (below) represent areas of
discrimination where legislation does or will soon exist. The thematic domains each
represent a work package (WP)

Age University of Glasgow

with
University of Surrey

Religious and political belief Edge Hill College of HE

with
London Metropolitan University

Disability University of Bristol

Gender and class University of Warwick

Race and ethnic origin London Metropolitan University

with
Edge Hill College of HE

Sexual orientation University of Sussex

SEQUAL also recognised that there are important issues which traverse all the above
thematic domains such as geographical isolation, language, and health and therefore
another theme/domain was included

Cross cutting issues (CCIs) University of Wales, Bangor

Together with the University of Glasgow, the University of Surrey researched ‘Age’,
specifically older workers and youth or young people respectively. For the University of
Glasgow, the research area was Glasgow City while for the University of Surrey, the
‘local’ research area was London.

Final Reports on each theme, a collection of all the Executive Summaries and a
SEQUAL film in either DVD or VHS format are available from
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/politics/cse/sequal-final-reports.htm

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS
There are around 6.4 million 16-24 year olds (1 in 9 of the population in the UK). As of
October 2004, 1.9 million were unemployed representing 42.2% of the total unemployed
population (aged 16 and over) – twice the number of any other age group. Today, less
than 15% of 16 year old school leavers find full-time employment.

This group is, on the one hand, highly amorphous and their experiences vary.
Unemployment among young people aged 16-24 ranges from 37% among young
Bangladeshi people to 11% among White youth. Concurrently, young people are
collectively burdened with negative stereotypes. They are viewed as lazy, untidy and
being ‘spoilt’. Such simplistic stereotypes have been levelled at each generation of
young people. What young people do share are similar generational attitudes and
unique characteristics, ‘culturally’ defined by current political, economic and
technological events and developments in society, (e.g. the ‘IT generation’), as Beh
states, [M]en resemble the times more than they do their fathers, (Andrew Beh, 1996,
‘Generations’ and Political Science: The Importance of Taking Time Seriously).

Legislation to combat age discrimination in the workplace will come into force in October
2006. Research has illustrated though, that many young people do believe they are
victims of ageism in the workplace, manifested in the attitudes and prejudices of their
colleagues and managers and by a lack of, or no access, to training and staff
development, (Eversheds, The Work Foundation). In relation to employability, there is
cynicism and pessimism about young people’s job readiness as they lack the
appropriate and soft skills which the economy needs. As a result, education policy has
come under scrutiny and criticism for a number of reasons. Although more young
people are getting degrees, skills gaps stubbornly remain resulting in the weakening of
the worth of HE qualifications. In turn, an education policy, which places more value on
traditional qualifications and HE, helps to maintain the prejudice that vocational or
unorthodox routes are ‘remedial’ and second best.

The empowering research undertaken by the University of Surrey, looked at young

people’s characteristics vis-à-vis a changing labour market and society (from
paternalism to self-reliance, stability to uncertainty and changing values, motivations
and relationships), while also exploring the importance and responsibility of other
stakeholders (schools, peers, parents/guardians, the media, employers and projects).

The researcher aimed to

• research issues surrounding the labour market and young people
• research issues surrounding discrimination
• explore the experiences and employment needs of young people at work
• research ‘who’ young people are and how their characteristics are constructed vis-à-
vis a changing labour market
• explore the roles of other stakeholders: parents/guardians, peers, programmes/
projects, schools, the media and employers
• look at issues of empowerment
• provide a broad and better understanding of young people.

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METHODOLOGY
The researcher chose to prioritise a broad approach and looked at all young people
rather than focusing on particular sub-sections of youth such as those form Black,
Minority and Ethnic (BME) communities, or those who are disabled or homeless, since
studies and research on particular sub-groups already exist. The researcher did not
want to encroach on other SEQUAL themes, and took youth as the main, although not
exclusive, research criteria.

The methodology used was open and unfolding rather than closed and pre-determined,
allowing the research to be continually informed. This led to a more open dialogue
between researcher and young people and resulted in evidence based and experiential
(rather than presumed) key findings.

Most of the examples of discrimination given by young people and the negative
stereotypes they face are seen to be merely part and parcel of being young. The view
below is a common one,
I don't believe the legislation should cover people under 40 because what the young
experience is not age discrimination but the realisation that they have to gain
experience in low level jobs before rising to the ranks -- which the good ones do very
quickly and at higher salaries than most people over 50. It's lack of experience and
maturity, not age discrimination, (Joyce Glasser, published lobbyist against age
discrimination).

Even so, the research has observed and noted the following examples of discrimination,
prejudice and negative stereotyping experienced by young people based on their own
perceptions. Importantly, none of these examples of discrimination are exclusive to
young people.

1) the difficulty of obtaining a good (first) job - when they lack skills,
qualifications and/or experience
This is rational economic behaviour – or ‘the business case’, in a competitive labour
market where employers are in a battle to attract the best employees. This applies to all
the SEQUAL themes.

2) negative stereotyping - (and 7 below), as being unreliable, scruffy, incapable,

unable to communicate or are labelled as excluded and disadvantaged
This is also applicable to all SEQUAL themes although stereotypes may vary. This is
nothing new, since youth culture and young people have consistently been viewed as
problematic and ‘deviant’. Public opinion and policy tends to target and view young
people en masse, e.g. press releases from the Home Office refer to “new tools to tackle
yobs” and “fighting back against louts”.

3) being given the “crap jobs” to do at work (photocopying, making tea and
coffee, doing the post run, cleaning etc.)
This can again apply to all the SEQUAL themes. The view that an employee must
‘begin at the bottom’ to gain experience is too simplistic; some individuals may be
(stuck) in jobs which do not reflect their abilities, (e.g. disabled individuals and
refugees).

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 4) ‘LIFO’ - when staff are laid off based on a ‘last in, first out’ policy. This can
affect young people more than older workers, especially when extra criteria
such as experience and training are taken into account
This can apply to all the SEQUAL themes and could, for example happen to women
returning to work or any new employee.

5) young employees receive no or inadequate training in work

This can apply to all, irrespective of age with low skills and qualifications. Access to
training will be part of the new legislation, although it is difficult to see how this will be
monitored and regulated effectively. There is a business case to argue here, as
investing in staff (of all ages) leads to better staff retention rates, the sustainability and
development of corporate knowledge and a reduction of recruitment costs, leading to a
more stable and productive economy.

6) not being taken seriously or valued, given responsibility, respect, praise or

rewarded on a ‘job well done’
Again, this is not exclusive to young people, although ‘being valued’ came up repeatedly
in the research as a key issue affecting motivation and loyalty. As the Employers
Forum on Age state, [A]geism is deeply entrenched in society and the workplace.
Valuing people of all ages within the workforce and regarding them all as a sustainable
rather than a disposable resource is essential for our future prosperity, (www.efa.org.uk)

7) being seen as ‘lucky’ and ‘spoilt’ - by the media and older generations -
therefore expectations of success are high. In the workplace, young people
are often viewed as ‘pushy’ and ‘ambitious’.
This is a common view between generations. Also being seen to be impatient,
ambitious and pushy is not exclusive to young people, (e.g. women)

The research was challenging as no consensus or ‘benchmarks’ exist in relation to age

discrimination (and young people). Other ‘domains’ such as ‘ethnicity/ race’ ‘gender’
and ‘disability’ are much more established in terms of literature and legislation but they
are also ‘set’ in terms of being defining characteristics (e.g. gender and ethnicity).
There is little clear evidence or literature in terms of employment discrimination and
young people in particular, or young people and discrimination in general.

These and other findings with recommendations are explored in the Conclusion.

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH

1.1 Research Methodology
The involvement and input of young people was central to the research as it is only
through experiential evidence based research that lessons can be adequately learned.
By working with young people, the research aimed to highlight and articulate issues
which impact on young people, their lives and views. Community youth groups in
Greenwich, Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth as well Connexions central offices all

4
over London were contacted by post and email. The research adopted a snowball
method of recruitment through Connexions advisors and youth workers, who
disseminated information about the research to their clients. The young people involved
in the research were volunteers, they received no financial or material incentives and
gave their time freely. A ‘voluntary participation’ method was favoured as it was felt
that financial incentives was a negative motivator which could have led to bias,
exaggerated or distorted views and opinions.

The project adopted a holistic approach in order to better understand the processes and
complexities of discrimination and employability in relation to young people. The project
used a range of methods to collect and collate information and to explore and discuss
emerging findings, including

• desk research
• literature searches and reviews: academic and everyday media
• generic questionnaire: this was used with young people, NDYP advisors, community
youth groups and youth ‘experts’
• interviews: the research ‘tracked’ 5 young people
• meetings with youth ‘experts’ (these key individuals acted as a ‘reference and
advisory group’ for the project, commenting on emerging issues and findings)the
research adopted a broad hermeneutical approach, emphasizing the need to
understand issues from the perspective of the social actor (young person).
• the approach used was qualitative, emphasising perception and experience
• observation, (Hermeneutics).

‘Tracking’ involved exploring with young people their attitudes, experiences and
knowledge of discrimination, career aspirations, employment, the labour market and
how this may or may not have changed over time. Wider issues such as the importance
and influence of other ‘stakeholders’, their ‘community’ and citizenship were also
explored.

I met with and interviewed several youth ‘experts’ involved in the Connexions
programme; advice and counselling work; a behaviour improvement project and a
consultant who has experience of youth work.

A generic questionnaire was developed and sent to community youth groups and New
Deal for Young People advisers across London, (Annex 1). This questionnaire was also
used with the ‘tracked’ young people and the youth ‘experts’.

‘Observation’ and interpretation of everyday events and experiences – social scenes

and interactions -played a key role in the research. A major part was to look at and use
material from everyday media - press and television as well as current literature, both
academic journals and articles.

Although the research did not look primarily at particular subsections of young people
but rather viewed ‘Youth’ as a whole, the diverse experiences of young people were
noted. The solidity of the category of youth presumes a fixed life stage rather than a
social process and in its simplicity does not adequately recognise that the lives of young

5
people are as varied and as difficult as those of adults. As such, ‘diversity’ was taken
account of from the individuals’ perspective. Even so, a holistic method was favoured
for a number of reasons Firstly, it mirrored policy, public opinion and the media which
views young people en masse, as an almost static immoveable block with each
generation having almost identical ‘deviant’ behaviour (e.g. drug abuse, under age sex
and having low moral values). Secondly, a holistic approach was felt not to encroach
on other SEQUAL work packages (ethnicity, disability etc.), allowing for ‘youth’ to be the
primary focus, criteria or denomination in the research although as mentioned, wider
issues were explored during interviews and in literature searches and reviews. Thirdly,
the approach recognised that a body of high quality specialised or specific research on
such subsections such as homeless young people, young people in or leaving care,
teenage mothers and BME young people already exists (e.g. in academia, Centrepoint,
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Social Exclusion Unit and the Home Office). Finally, it
was felt to be more equitable in that it did not focus on particular subsections of young
people allowing more generic issues to emerge.

The research adopted an approach which was ‘loose’ and ‘unfolding’ as opposed to ‘tight’
and ‘pre-specified’ allowing the work to be constantly informed and to adapt to emerging
findings. This approach allowed a certain freedom and a continuous process of reflection
and consultation throughout the research, as Miles and Huberman state,

The conventional image of field research is one that keeps pre-structured design to a
minimum. Many social anthropologists and social phenomenologists consider social
processes to be too complex, too relative, too elusive, or too exotic to be approached with
explicit conceptual frames or standard instruments. They prefer a more loosely structured,
emergent, inductively ‘grounded’ approach to gathering data: the conceptual framework
should emerge from the field in the course of the study; the important research questions
will become clear only gradually; meaningful settings and actors cannot be selected prior to
the fieldwork; instruments; if any, should be derived from the properties of the setting and
its actors’ views of them. (Miles and Huberman, 1994, p.17).

Figure 1: Pre-specified versus unfolding: the timing of structure

Specified research questions• •General guiding questions

Tightly structured design• Qualitative • Loosely structured design
Pre-structured data• research • Data not pre-structured

Quantitative
Research (Source: Punch, 2000, p.23)

Consistent with this, the researcher used a hermeneutic approach, which in the social
sciences is concerned with the theory and method of interpretation of human action.
Hermeneutics emphasizes the need to understand from the perspective of the social
actor, (Bryman, 2001, p.504).

6
Young people have limited experience of the labour market and the influences and
impact of other ‘players’, ‘structures’ and relationships are vital in understanding how
young peoples’ opinions are shaped. Concurrently, it was important to consider how
young people are viewed and to interpret, (or attempt to), how and why these
perceptions and definitions occur, since stereotypes can lead to prejudice resulting in
discrimination. The characteristics given to generations are defined by the changing
social, political and economic situation of the time,

“Age relations (including youth) are part of the economic relations and political and
ideological structures in which they take place. It is not the relations between ages
which explain the changes or stability in society, but changes in societies which explains
the relations between ages”, (Allen, 1968, p.321)

A number of areas were examined to varying degrees,

• The experience and attitudes of young people

• Youth policies and programmes
• The ‘changing’ labour market
• Employability issues
• Characteristics of the ‘youth’ generational group
• Discrimination issues
• The role and responsibilities of other stakeholders (parents, peers, schools,
programmes and employers).

By looking at youth and young people as a whole, the research utilised a cultural
generational approach, which juxtaposed the contemporary cultural influences and the
characteristics of young people. Such an approach was seen to better illuminate and
explain the needs, concerns, barriers and disadvantage faced by young people in an
increasingly borderless yet smaller and impersonal world. Statistics were used
sparingly as they were felt to be too limiting.

This report aims to explore, explain and illustrate the condition and situation of ‘youth’
and young people vis-à-vis discrimination, employment and employability. A ‘cultural’
generation approach (outlined below), was adopted to achieve this. By talking with
young people, those who work with them and by using everyday sources and materials,
this report attempts to inform, explain and ultimately to present a ‘real’ picture from the
point of view of young people.

• Part 1 of this report concludes by highlighting examples of policy or structural

discrimination and profiles ‘deviant’ behaviour among young people
• Part 2 gives an overview of the main issues, such as educational reform, the
changing labour market and HE policy (amongst other subjects) and explores
these in terms of their affect on young people
• Part 3 looks specifically at the field research undertaken
• Part 4 explores other SEQUAL themes in relation to young people.

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This report concludes with 7 Annexes. These can be used for reference (e.g. good
practice and statistics) and as resources (list of youth organisations and programmes).

1.2 The Generation Game

It proved problematic in establishing what, apart from their similar (chronological) age, is
actually distinctive about youth, as Mizens point out,
there is nothing about the status of being in full-time education that makes it uniquely
youthful, as both the large numbers of primary school children and mature further and
higher education students readily testify. Nor is the experience of unemployment a
uniquely, or even a majority, youthful one. Conversely, there is also nothing about the
quality of being in work that makes it definitively adult so that entry into work may be
deemed to mark the closure of youth, (2002).

A generation can be defined and measured by (a) chronological time, (b) social time(s),
and historical time(s). By looking at discrimination, the research aimed to obtain a
deeper and better understanding of how and why age discrimination and prejudice
against young people is constructed in order to better understand young people, their
views, behaviour and aspirations. It became very clear that some opinions, prejudices
and characteristics are common in almost every generation (e.g. being ‘scruffy’) but that
there are particular generational ones also, (e.g. being ‘IT savvy’), (Table 3 below
illustrates the defining characteristics given to the three most recent generations). The
simplistic definitions of ‘youth culture’ and stereotypes of young people conceal the
more specific generational characteristics that mirror wider society.

What became clear in the research is that much of the criticism and simplistic
stereotypes levelled at young people were unreasonable and misplaced, [T]he youth
question has almost become a metaphor for all that has gone wrong in society and yet
in very real terms it is young people, or rather some sections of young people, who are
bearing the brunt of critical changes in the way society discharges its responsibility to its
citizens, (Roche and Tucker, 2002, p.3). Thus, age, specifically young people, and
subsequently the youth question have been politicised and regulated by the state,
through structures and policies, (Wallace and Kovatcheva).

Table 3 Recent generations and their defining characteristics

Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y (Why?)
(DOB 1946 – 1964) (DOB 1965 – 1975(-80)) (DOB 1976 (-80)– current)

• two distinct and • a cultural idea, rather than • confident, self-reliant,

sometimes conflicting
attitudes: social activism
and individualism
• saw massive changes in
attitudes to many social
issues : the sexual
revolution, mass political
action for causes (war
opposition, civil rights and
feminism)
• a period of radical
upheavals in popular
a demographic term
• rebel against the idealism
of the baby boomers
• lacks a core: a crisis of
identity, the 'squeezed'
generation
• the most immigrant
generation born in the
twentieth century
• ‘work to live’ instead of
‘live-to-work’ outlook
• lean toward pragmatism
8
optimistic and positive
• live for the moment
attitude
• give respect only after
they are treated with
respect
• make less clear
distinctions between what
is right and wrong
• earn in order to consume
(more disposable income)
• conditioned by technology
 culture such as the and non-affiliation; feeling
maturity of rock and roll betrayed, sceptical and
as an art form, (also with a distrust of authority
Punk) • credited with a new growth
• Currently make up 29% of of entrepreneurship and
the population (Census the resulting dot-com boom
2001) and have a lot of • seen as overqualified
political power slackers
• view jobs within the context
of a contract, since they
believe lifelong
employment is never going
to be theirs (progress
blocked by baby boomers!)
• • more racially diverse
to expect instant results/
answers
• entrepreneurial, outside-
the-box thinkers who
relish responsibility
• enter the work force with a
lack of basic traditional
skills
• feel that just showing up
for work is a worthy effort
• respond best to marketing
that brings the message
to places they congregate
(“communities of interest”)

Douglas Coupland.
Generation X:
Tales for an Accelerated
Culture, pg.142
(Source: various www.)

A generation is usually defined demographically, but both generations X and Y are

cultural and social rather than demographic generations. There are also specific
generations (or cohorts) such as ‘Thatcher’s generation’ who came of age between
1979 and 1987. Their characteristics reflect the significant socio, economic and political
changes that have taken place and which have affected how we live, work and
socialise. The generational timescales reflect that developments are occurring more
rapidly and are more profound. The turnaround of changes and developments therefore
are evolving at such a rate that they are becoming obsolete and irrelevant quicker,
(especially in ICT), and as a result culturally defined ‘generations’ may be becoming
blurred and shorter. Paradoxically though, the period of ‘youth’ is becoming more
drawn out and extended due to a divergence of experience. At one extreme young
people are leaving school at 16 and becoming parents, while the majority (at the other
extreme) are continuing into FE, HE and are delaying achieving adult statuses (living

9
independently, marriage and having children). There remains a distinct socio-economic
class distinction between these two paths.

1.3 Policy Discrimination and ‘Deviant’ Stereotypes

Research shows that age discrimination is predominantly viewed as an ‘older worker’
issue. Of approximately 62 AgePositive Good Practice Case Studies
(www.agepositive.gov.uk), 45 are older worker orientated and geared towards
information on older workers. However, a recent survey of over 2,000 employers shows
that 58% of younger workers (aged 16-25) compared to 47% of those aged 45+ felt
that they have been discriminated against on the grounds of their age or lack of
experience, (Eversheds, September 2004). The research also revealed that one third of
employees believed that the legislation will only protect older workers. Surprisingly,
20% of HR professionals and nearly 40% of senior managers believed the legislation
was designed to protect older workers only. This illustrates the ignorance and lack of
information that currently exists among employees but most worryingly, employers.

Although the presence of a National Minimum Wage (NMW), (Table 1, below), is

positive, recent UNISON and YMCA reports (2003 and 2004) highlight the negative
effects of the low NMW and raise important inter-related issues and concerns, namely,
(i) the level is too low. The research showed that 16 and 17 year olds were
already beginning to be paid above the £3 rate set in 2004, which has led to
concerns that wages are being kept artificially low, (UNISON and YMCA,
2003)
(ii) enforcement is problematic and lacks teeth so abuses go predominantly
unchecked, and
(iii) the low level of the NMW alongside stringent benefit rules only exacerbate the
‘benefits trap’ by not making work pay, (especially for those living
independently and who cannot make ends meet, (e.g. living and travel
expenses).

Case studies 1 and 2 (below), illustrate this latter point that policy regulations
currently in place discriminate against those young people who are in need of
support the most, by extending dependency and the ‘benefits trap’ experience.

Table 1 National Minimum Wage

Age NMW - 1999 NMW – Oct 2004
16 and 17 year olds - 3.00#
18-21 year olds 3.00 4.10
22 years and over 3.60 4.85*
# Introduced in 2004 to “prevent exploitation”
* A development rate of £4.10 can be paid for the first 6 months, for those who are starting work
with a new employer on an accredited training programme.

Case Study 1
YMCA England calculations on living costs for contract staff:

Elizabeth House is a 10 bed hostel for young homeless people who wish to develop
independent living skills and move forward in terms of training, education and work. The
total weekly rent is £189.42, of which residents in receipt of benefits pay £19.65pw to
cover food and utility costs.

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 One of our residents, Laura* is working - her net pay is £160pw. To calculate housing
benefit, the income support applicable amount (£44.25pw for a young person) and a £5
disregard are subtracted from the net pay. In Laura's case this leaves an excess income
of £110.75. Laura is required to pay 65% of this - ie £71.99 - on top of her service
charge of £19.65. This leaves her with just £68.36 to live on, for doing a full time job. So
there is very little incentive for young people in hostels to work rather than claiming
benefits.
*name has been changed
Source: YMCA
Case Study 2

Sarah has just turned 17 and is living in a South London YMCA hostel for young people.
She recently got a job working 40 hours per week in a warehouse. She is paid about
£150 per week (net) for this. The full rent in her hostel is about £180 per week (of which
£160 is paid by Housing Benefit for people on JSA or Income Support).

Sarah’s actual rent each week, now she is working, is about £85 per week, because she
gets caught in the Housing Benefit taper. She has to be at work by 9am and so she
needs a £25 travelcard each week.

This leaves her with £40 per week to pay for clothes, lunch, toiletries, prescriptions, and
any other expenses she has.

Her hours vary from week to week depending on when her boss needs her in. As a
result during some weeks she gets considerably less money. However, because the
Housing Benefit system is so unwieldy she still ends up paying the same amount of rent
each week. On these weeks she has no money, whatsoever, left over.

Sarah is scared to resign from the job in case she gets sanctioned by the Benefits
Agency. As she is working full-time, it is hard for her to find time to search for a new one.
But even if she does she is only going to be 33p better off for each pound she earns in
extra salary. So even if she gets a job with £200 net per week, she is only going to be
£17 better off.

Sarah has looked into cheaper accommodation. However, private landlords want 1
month’s rent up front and 1 month’s deposit for a bedsit. This comes to over £1000.
Because of her lack of income this will take forever for Sarah to save. Sarah’s key-
worker tells her that she can’t move into her own Housing Association tenancy until she
is 18 at the earliest. She also says there is a real shortage of these places at the
moment.

Sarah took this job, so she would not have to claim benefits and wanted to be
independent. Now she feels absolutely trapped and can see no way out…
Source: YMCA, (2004)

11
UNISON Labour Link and the Labour national young members' forum are working
together to gather solid evidence of age discrimination against young people in our tax
and benefits system. In particular, they want to gather evidence and individual case
studies to support their campaign for

• Working tax credits to be extended to single childless people under 25;

• The end to lower rates of all state benefits to single, childless people under 25;
• The abolition of the use of the single room rent in housing benefit claims for
single childless people under 25.

Experience of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) is also mixed (as with the NDYP). By the
end of 2003, the number of people on MAs was 238,000, an increase of 3.5% on the
previous year, (LSC March 2004, Statistical First Release, ILR/SFR03). In 2002/3, the
completion rate, across all levels was 27% (with an additional 13% achieving an NVQ
qualification, (LSC June 2004, Statistical First Release, ILR/SFR04). Despite many
positive experiences, the poor pay, quality of training (and exploitation), means that
many young people on MAs fail to complete them. The YMCA believes that the non-
completion rates among 16 and 17 year olds are to a large extent due to the fact that
they cannot manage on the very low wages offered. The NDYP provision begins at 18+
therefore exacerbating the exclusion experienced and barriers faced by those aged 16
and 17. The table below gives a regional picture of those aged 15 leaving school
without GCSE/GNVQ qualifications.

Table 2 GCSE/GNVQ Non-Achievements of 15 year old Boys & Girls, in all Maintained
schools, by GOR (by end of 98/99)
GOR Number of 15 year old % of 15 year old pupils
pupils leaving without leaving School without
any GCSE/GNVQ achieving any
equivalent GCSE/GNVQ equivalent
East Midlands 2,536 5.4%
East of England 2,709 4.7%
London 3,441 5.2%
North East 2,144 7.0%
North West 4,772 5.9%
South East 3,900 4.8%
South West 2,176 4.3%
West Midlands 3,411 5.5%
Yorks & Humber 4,030 7.0%
Wales 1,308 3.7%
Scotland Data unavailable 4%
N. Ireland Data unavailable 6.2%
(*96/97)
Total England 32,024 6.0%
(Source: DfEE 2000 Statistics of Education, England 1999, National Assembly of Wales,
Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency, Scottish Executive)

12
Young people (especially those seen to be ‘excluded’ and ‘disadvantaged’) are often
solely associated with ‘deviant’ behaviour, (e.g. sex, drugs and crime). The ‘binge
drinking’ scourge is an obvious example, although neither drug nor alcohol abuse are
exclusive to young people, (indeed among the professional and wealthy, drug (ab)use is
‘recreational’). Statistically, there is a picture of stable drug usage, and although there
are some increases there has also been some reduction in usage. Amphetamine usage
has actually declined from 7.9% of 16-29 year olds (1998) to 5.2% in 2001, although the
increase in cocaine use among 16-24 year olds has continued, with the proportion of
those ‘having used the drug ever’ rising from 8% in 1998 to 9% in 2001. A similar
increase occurred for 'Ecstasy' (11% to 12%). Cannabis use for those ‘having used the
drug ever’ aged 16-24 has remained stable at 44% in 1998 and 2001 and has remained
stable at 27% in 1998 and 2001 for cannabis in terms of ‘have used in last 12 months’.
In 2001, 33% of males aged 16-24 had used cannabis in the last 12 months compared
to 21% of females. In 1998, 32% of males aged 16-24 had used cannabis in the last 12
months compared to 22% of females in the same age group (Drugscope, 2002).

In relation to crime, only 7% of young people in school have committed crimes requiring
police involvement, (Young People Now www.ypnmagazine.com). Politically and in the
media, there is an emphasis now to get tough on crime, young criminals and ‘anti-social
behaviour’. The media presents young people at best as problems and at worst as
criminals. 71% of stories about young people are negative and one in three focuses on
crime, (Annex 2 - Young People and the Media: The Facts), (Young People Now,
www.ypnmagazine.com). The media strongly influence and perpetuate the
disproportional negative stereotypes about young people, and positive media coverage
remains the exception rather than the rule, (Annex 3 - Media Good Practice Case
Studies).

Of more concern is that the UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the EU, and
hence the highest number of teenage mothers. In 2002 there were 39,286 recorded
teenage pregnancies, twice as high as Germany, three times higher than France and
six times higher than Holland.

2 OVERVIEW OF ISSUES
This section briefly profiles and makes a wide ranging analysis of the labour market and
the main policies and programmes and most importantly, explores the implications vis-
à-vis young people.

2.1 Young People and the Labour Market: Statistical Overview

The UK is enjoying a still buoyant economy with low unemployment especially when
compared to other EU countries. Locally, London’s (ILO) unemployment rate in early
2002 stood at 6.9%, higher than the national rate of 3.3% at the same period, (National
Statistics).

13
Across all ethnic groups, young people (aged 16 to 24) had higher unemployment rates
than the working age population. Generally, there is higher unemployment among
individuals from ethnic minorities than among the white population and this is reflected
in the 16-24 age range, where unemployment ranged from 37% among young
Bangladeshi people to 11% of young white people. In London, the economic activity
rate varies greatly among different ethnic groups. Regardless of age, in Spring 2002,
80% of the white population were employed compared to 54% of the Pakistani and 47%
of the Bangladeshi population, (although these low figures are in part due to low female
employment within these communities),
(http://www.national-statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=6282)

Even though the proportion of employed young people nearly halved between the
beginning of the 1980s and the mid 1990s, those aged 16-24 are still more likely to be
unemployed than any other age group. In terms of employment, at the 1997 general
election, long-term youth unemployment was just below 250,000 – twice the number of
any other age group. Today, less than 15% of 16 year old school leavers find full-time
employment.

Overall national and regional changes in under-25 unemployment are illustrated on the
table below, (Table 4). Gender and age variations are also shown, (Table 5)

Table 4 National and Regional changes in unemployment (1997-2002)

Claimant Count — Youth unemployment (aged under 25)

May-97 Sep-02 change % change

United Kingdom 414,566 257,527 -157,039 -37.9
Great Britain 399,778 245,623 -154,155 -38.6

South West 25,854 12,357 -13,497 -52.2

South East 31,399 16,463 -14,936 -47.6
Eastern 26,518 14,162 -12,356 -46.6
East Midlands 26,462 16,044 -10,418 -39.4
Yorkshire and the 41,805 25,816 -15,989 -38.2
Humber
Scotland 43,841 27,502 -16,339 -37.3
North West 56,468 35,602 -20,866 -37.0
Wales 22,895 14,456 -8,439 -36.9
London 59,775 38,678 -21,097 -35.3
North East 26,132 17,714 -8,418 -32.2
West Midlands 38,629 26,829 -11,800 -30.5
Northern Ireland 14,788 11,904 -2,884 -19.5
(source: NOMIS)

14
 Table 5 Economic activity by age and gender - 2001
%in %unemployed %inactive %retired Economic- Unemploy- % all
work at activity ment rate economic-
present rate ally active
self-
employed
MALES
16-24 62.8 12.0 20.7 4.5 74.8 16.1 3.3
25-34 87.9 5.1 2.2 4.8 93.0 5.5 10.6
35-44 88.4 3.7 1.8 6.1 92.1 4.0 15.6
45-59 80.8 3.2 3.8 12.3 84.0 3.8 19.4
60-64 48.9 2.5 20.9 27.8 51.4 4.9 25.2
Aged 16- 78.8 5.2 7.1 8.9 84.0 6.2 14.0
64
FEMALES
16-24 58.9 7.8 29.0 4.3 66.7 11.8 1.0
25-34 71.1 3.4 20.4 5.1 74.5 4.5 4.8
35-44 74.1 2.9 16.1 6.9 77.0 3.7 7.6
45-59 68.3 1.9 13.4 16.4 70.2 2.7 7.8
Aged 16- 68.8 3.6 18.6 9.1 72.4 4.9 5.9
64
PERSONS
16-24 60.9 10.0 24.8 4.4 70.8 14.1 2.3
25-34 79.7 4.3 11.1 4.9 84.0 5.1 8.1
35-44 81.3 3.3 8.9 6.5 84.6 3.9 12.0
45-59 74.5 2.5 8.6 14.3 77.0 3.3 14.1
60-64 48.9 2.5 20.9 27.8 51.4 4.9 25.2
Aged 16- 74.0 4.4 12.6 9.0 78.5 5.6 10.4
59/64
Notes: Percentages based on a cell count of under 6,000 are suppressed
Totals refer to all males or females living in the UK.
Source: Labour Force Survey, mean of Mar-May to Dec-Feb

An explanation for the fall in the unemployment rate of this age group is due to two main
factors. Firstly, more young people are remaining in education, a trend which is
continuing and which is fuelled by the government policy which aims to encourage 50%
youth participation in FE and HE. Table 6 illustrates school leavers’ destination.

15
Table 6 Destination of School Leavers by Region
Region FT Government Employment
Education Supported
Training

East Midlands 76% 6% 18%

East of 82% 4% 14%
England
London 88% 3% 8%
North East 73% 15% 12%
North West 75% 8% 17%
South East 84% 3% 13%
South West 81% 6% 14%
West 77% 9% 15%
Midlands
Yorks & 75% 10% 16%
Humber
England 79% 7% 14%
Source: DfEE 2000 Labour Market and Skills Trendsi

Secondly, the fall in the birth rate during the mid-1960s until the mid-1970s can also be
credited with the decline in youth unemployment. Recent research (Barwell, 2000, p.5)
highlights this point. Barwell states, “Given that youths always have higher
unemployment rates than adults, this shift in the composition of the labour force towards
those with lower unemployment rates may have been responsible for a fall in the
aggregate unemployment rate”. This argument that the drop in birth rates to a large
extent is responsible for the low unemployment rate is supported by other research
which predicts a 2.2 million rise in jobs by 2010 but concurrently 2 million fewer young
people to fill these opportunities, (National Skills Task Force Reports, 2000).

In relation to London, a GMB report (November 2002) recorded a steady drop in youth
unemployment since 1997. This claim is supported by official statistics in Table 7.

Table 7 Source: NOMIS

London Claimant Count - Youth unemployment (aged under 25)
May-97 Sep-02 change % change
Bexley 1,301 654 -647 -49.7
Kingston-upon-Thames 515 262 -253 -49.1
Hackney 3,531 1,805 -1,726 -48.9
Havering 1,085 579 -506 -46.6
Hounslow 1,404 757 -647 -46.1
Sutton 658 366 -292 -44.4
Islington 2,352 1,345 -1,007 -42.8
Bromley 1,253 745 -508 -40.5
Wandsworth 2,017 1,212 -805 -39.9
Barking and Dagenham 1,371 824 -547 -39.9
Kensington and Chelsea 866 526 -340 -39.3
Merton 1,052 648 -404 -38.4
Hammersmith and 1,456 906 -550 -37.8

16
 Fulham
Richmond-upon-Thames 442 276 -166 -37.6
Waltham Forest 2,375 1,484 -891 -37.5
Haringey 2,951 1,854 -1,097 -37.2
Lambeth 3,466 2,187 -1,279 -36.9
Greenwich 2,658 1,681 -977 -36.8
Redbridge 1,668 1,067 -601 -36.0
Enfield 2,081 1,338 -743 -35.7
Brent 2,693 1,733 -960 -35.6
Newham 3,401 2,197 -1,204 -35.4
Camden 1,777 1,206 -571 -32.1
Croydon 2,239 1,587 -652 -29.1
Westminster, City of 1,181 860 -321 -27.2
Lewisham 2,861 2,094 -767 -26.8
Southwark 3,002 2,203 -799 -26.6
Ealing 1,893 1,413 -480 -25.4
Tower Hamlets 2,744 2,091 -653 -23.8
Hillingdon 1,053 808 -245 -23.3
Barnet 1,545 1,216 -329 -21.3
Harrow 869 732 -137 -15.8
City of London 15 22 +7 +46.7
This compares with the UK national average of a fall of -37.9% and a London average
of a fall of -35.3%.

2.2 Young People in the Changing Labour Market

Due to changing economic needs, there has been a considerable change in the nature
of the labour market. The downsizings, reorganisations and outsourcings of the early
1990s, set off a major shift in the employment landscape. Table 8, below, illustrates the
changes that have taken place,

Table 8 The Changing Labour Market

OLD NEW
Stability Change
Predictability Uncertainty
Standard work patterns Flexible work
Valuing loyalty Valuing performance and skills
Paternalism Self-reliance
Job security Employment security
Linear career growth Multiple careers
One-time learning Lifelong learning
‘Brand New Loyalties’, Employee Benefits, March 2002

17
There is now a shift from the old psychological contract of the expectations of a job for
life, with huge, although often hidden, repercussions for both workers and employing
organisations. Understanding the motivation and situation of young workers needs to
be explained and understood in this changing environment which hinges on two main
processes, that of globalisation and individualisation, (Beck, 1999, 2000).

Despite employers and the labour market in general changing tack from the paternalistic
employment relationship of the past, they seem ill prepared for the attitudinal shifts that
their own actions have prompted. One result in this shift is that half of all graduate
recruits leave their jobs within two years, (Work Foundation, 2003). What the labour
market and employers have failed to realise is that young people are increasingly
becoming selective about who they work for and how they work. Employers’
expectations may be high, but so are the expectations of the young people they are
trying to attract. Although a generalisation, one characteristic of young people today is
that they are extremely resilient, adaptable to, and unafraid of change, as Fergusson
writes, [F]or these young people, living with uncertainty is embraced much more than it
is feared, (2002, p.184).

There is now a smaller but more highly qualified recruitment pool of young workers, with
more emphasis on skills and 'employability for life', an individualised workplace and
higher expectations. All too often, the parties are unclear about the organisation's
strategy for recruiting and developing young workers, resulting in wasted effort,
frustrated managers and disillusioned recruits. Young people equally put a lot of
importance of employer investment in their career development and rising through the
ranks and gaining responsibility quickly. One of the main reasons young people leave
is if the role does not fulfil expectations and has been ‘oversold’, (Work Foundation,
2003). Some young people are disadvantaged at the first stages of the recruitment
process itself. Application forms (and many job specifications) focus on chronology and
career time-lines rather than on competency and ability, resulting in an age bias. Such
practices tend to discriminate against those who have broken career paths, (e.g. having
children, travel and ill-health). The Employers Forum on Age has produced an age
blind (or age-proof) example of an application form, urging employers to remove age
and date of birth from application forms and to look more at the individual capabilities
and skills, (2004, available online, www.efa.org.uk).

While the new, sanitised language of ‘outsourcing’, ‘downsizing’ and flexibility make the
reality - redundancy and job security – an easier pill to swallow, many young people
have risen to the challenge of the impersonal labour market and are equally as fickle
and self-serving. Loyalty to an employer can last only as long as these young
employees are achieving their own personal goals, [F]orty per cent of graduates said
that the main reason to stay in a job was career prospects and 36% said they would be
‘very much’ prepared to change jobs and earn less money in order to get better career
prospects, (Work Foundation, 2003).

Young people have developed a much more instrumental approach to employment and
have very high expectations of work. They put substantial importance on the ‘brand’ of
a company as they are always keen on improving their CV. With more young people
investing in HE, their expectations are high. Job security is still important, although

18
young people have adapted with the times and recognise that it is ‘employability’ that
will guarantee long-term career success. This importance placed on permanently
improving their CV has been labelled as ‘gold-dusting’, (Work Foundation, 2003).

As the report points out, there is an impasse here, the price employers must pay in
attracting and keeping young employees is to train them and give them responsibility.
By doing so, the young person’s employability currency is increased and they become
attractive to other employers. Even though there may be a risk in ‘skilling’ and
equipping young people, research shows that workers (of all ages) are more likely to
stay with an employer if they are invested in and respected, where an individual feels
they ‘belong’ to an organisation and are valued workers – appears to be the key in
retaining workers of all ages, and, the evidence suggests that investment in
development has more of an impact on young worker retention than a 10% pay rise.
Management and the competency of managers are also highlighted by the research.
Staff development, mentoring and coaching are crucial and have as much to do with
empathy and mutual respect between generations, as have organisational policies.

Generational conflicts are ever present and are inevitably cyclical. Older generations
will always believe that younger generations have a much easier ride, (Sean Coughlan,
When an angry staff puts the age into rage, July 31, 2004, The Guardian). Current
research in the US and in England shows that there are genuine and tangible reasons
for the current ‘conflict’ between the generations in the workplace, seen as a
‘communication gap’, where, [M]anagers would talk about the fact that young people
were not concerned about job security; yet the majority were. Development plans,
apparently mutually agreed, did not seem to fulfil many of the young workers’ goals,
(Great Expectations: Understanding the Motivation of Young Workers, p.20). Respect
and recognition of good performance is also important,…young workers wanted more
individual acknowledgment for good work. Graduates wanted recognition of their role
through greater responsibility at an earlier stage. The report highlights other ‘gaps’,

(i) Lifestyle: young people are more likely to relish a 24/7 working week and are
more conspicuous for how they have accepted the long hours culture. For
younger workers, the workplace represents an important social and
networking environment.
(ii) Experience: young people lack the work and life experience of older workers
and as such are sometimes viewed as lacking the right attitude, motivation
and discipline (or, the ‘work ethic’). The research shows that the ‘experience’
gap varies according to the size, nature and management/ working practices
of the company. Where older and younger workers collaborated on joint
work, gaps were less pronounced. Having been brought up with technology,
younger workers do have the upper hand in IT, and they often teach older
colleagues about how to use technology. Also, young people are seen as
being more ‘in touch’ with consumers and markets and in general they create,
a more happening workplace with a very social and networking culture, (p.19)
(iii) Status: this gap is about seniority and status within a company, where ‘fast-
tracking’ young people into positions of seniority can result in resentment from
older workers, who may view this as special treatment and undeserved. This
may cause difficult working environments especially if younger workers
manage older colleagues or if older managers feel threatened.
(iv) Generation: this gap underpins all others and is focussed on the difference in
approach, which the different generations take. In short, and predictably so,
young workers are seen as inexperienced and impatient, while older workers
19
 are seen as stubborn and unwilling to change. Expectations vary, mostly due
to adapting to the changing nature of the labour market rather than being
disloyal, unmotivated or fickle, [DesignCo] used to be about a career, but for
most young workers now, it is about a job, (p.22). Young people are much
more ‘transactional’ and ‘pre-meditated’ about work and this is often viewed
as being ‘pushy’, but their approach to work is simply a response to the shift
in career ownership from paternalism to autonomy.

2.3 Skills Shortages and Gaps

Since the 1970’s the structure of the labour market has changed dramatically. There
has been a decrease in activity in the primary and secondary (agricultural and industrial)
sectors (e.g. coal mining), and also in parts of the manufacturing industries. This period
has seen technology (computers and machines) replace human labour and has led to a
decrease in secondary jobs. The tertiary sector has seen an increase in jobs with the
broadening of those providing services to (new) business and consumers in tourism,
leisure, the media, health and education. The acute shortages in the latter two sectors
have resulted in the employment of foreign teachers and health workers, (Pumphrey, J.
2002, Skills Dialogue: Listening to Employers No13, DfES), while quaternary jobs
(research and development, such as IT), as in the tertiary sector, are available with
some specialised shortages also.

There are still well documented and long-standing skill shortages especially in the
technical and manufacturing professions. According to ONS figures, employment in the
manufacturing sector has fallen by 16% in the past five years. Concurrently, there has
been a decline in jobs, from 4.2 million in 1998 to 3.5 million.

Hard to fill Public service work continues to be deeply unappealing to young people.
The negative and shabby term "public sector" has to be broken down and reinvented
both in terms of image but also in terms of offering ‘fair pay’. Not only is the private
sector seen as paying better, but it is viewed as more thrilling, ‘sexy’, and is always
going to be faster and more exciting, (David Brindle, The Ys and the wherefores,
Wednesday June 4, 2003, The Guardian). A survey of over 860 students by
recruitment group Bernard Hodes, revealed that only 28% expressed a wish to work in
the non-private sector. ‘Money’, ‘competitive’ and ‘challenging’; were words students
most associated with the private sector, while those for the non-private sector were
‘rewarding’, ‘low pay’ and ‘security’, (cited in, David Brindle, 2003), The public services
are simply failing to attract young people.

Generic skills are those skills which can be used across large numbers of different
occupations. They include what are defined as key skills – communication, problem
solving, team working, IT skills, application of number and an ability to improve personal
learning and performance. They also include reasoning skills, visualising output,
working backwards for forward planning purposes and sequencing operation, National
Skills Task Force, (2000). These skills are Communication, Improving own learning and
development, IT, Management, Numeracy, Organisation of work, Problem Solving and
Team working, (A Comprehensive Summary of Generic Skills Requirements, DfES,
2002).

The criticism often levelled at young people that they lack effective and developed
communication and interpersonal skills may be explained – in part, at least - by the fact
that this cultural generation of young people do not need such traditional skills to
20
interact and communicate. One unique characteristic they share is that they are the IT
generation.

Technological advances in ICT herald huge positives but simultaneously huge

negatives. The Internet has revolutionised and made communication and access to
information instant. The mobile phone means that we can be always available.
Boundaries between work and leisure are blurred. Young people have grown up with
computers at school and in the home, they are using all the latest technology to
empower themselves. It's part of their life. Their bedroom is like a virtual world. They
have a social life out of their bedroom, they do not know a world without technology,
(Justin Hunt, How kids can cash in Thursday, February 17, 2000, The Guardian).

The ownership of mobile phones is now the norm but was rare only fifteen or so years
ago. They offer safety and peace of mind but to the vast extent they also remove the
element of personal interaction and conversation and are redefining the lines between
work, and family. Both the internet and mobile have huge advantages for those who
work from home, are carers or are house bound due to an illness or disability, allowing
anyone to communicate shop and pay bills. But adversely it removes any need for
interaction. In short, whether the positives outweigh the negatives or not, a
consequence is that we are increasingly becoming a more impersonal society, less
reliant on direct physical verbal communication and interaction with others. Seen from
this point of view, they are unwitting victims and a product of ‘progress’.

Employers continue to report difficulty in recruiting job-ready Graduates, citing skills

shortages in three out of five graduate attributes ranked as being the most important,
namely, interpersonal skills, initiative/ proactivity, and oral communication, (The
Association of Graduate Recruiters, Graduate Salaries and Vacancies Survey, 2002).
The government policy of encouraging 50% of young people into HE has been heavily
criticized by educationalists and employers alike. The number of graduates has
increased dramatically over the last decade by 23%, to an estimated 260,000 in 2004
far outnumbering the estimated 80,000 graduate-level job vacancies available in the
same year, (for a definition of graduate levels jobs, see Purcell and Elias, Seven Years
On, 2004, HECSU). The labour market is struggling to absorb the number of graduates
and the consequence of getting more young people into HE has subsequently resulted
in an unsurprisingly de-valuing of degrees and traditional academic qualifications.

2.4 The New Deal for Young People

Some of the drop in youth unemployment has also been attributed to the introduction by
the Labour Government of the New Deal for Young People (NDYP) Programme, (see
Anderton, Riley and Young, The New Deal for Young People: Early Findings from the
Pathfinders Areas, 1999, DWP and Anderton, Riley and Young, The New Deal for
Young People: Implications for the Macroeconomy, 1999, National Institute for

21
Economic and Social Research, while for a more critical review, see Bogdanor, Not
Working: Why Workfare Should Replace the New Deal, 2004, Policy Exchange).
Introduced in 1998, it aimed to tackle youth unemployment which had rocketed during
the 1990s. The plethora of New Deal programmes introduced by the Labour
Government are aimed at tackling ‘social exclusion’ through labour market insertion and
are strongly aligned to (indeed they are taken from) US workforce policies. ‘Exclusion is
the greatest risk accompanying the opportunities of the new economic era. Significant
people lose their hold first on the labour market, then on the social and political
participation in their community’, (Dahrendorf et al. 1995)

The original European concept of Social Exclusion lies in a robust commitment and
belief in social rights, citizenship, solidarity, mutuality and the collectivisation of risk,
where social bonds, relationships are crucial to a cohesive and equitable society,
(Silver, 1994). The New Deal programmes, particularly NDYP, diluted this concept and
saw employment as the only way to combat social exclusion. As a Government
Minister stated, work is central to the government’s attack on social exclusion…it is a
way of life…we are reforming the welfare state around the work ethic, (Harman, quoted
in Lister, 1988, p.219-220).

The NDYP is aimed at those aged 18-24, who have been claiming Job Seeker’s
Allowance (JSA) for at least six months. ‘Clients’ are advised and counselled by
personal advisors and are given one of five options; subsidized placement with an
employer (where employers receive approximately £2300 per ‘client’); the
Environmental Task Force; a voluntary based community project; self employment or
education or training (ET). Generally, options run for half a year except ET, which is
normally for a year.

New Deal also places the burden of responsibility firmly onto the shoulders of the
individual and, [I]t shifts welfare from an automatic entitlement of citizenship to a
conditional feature of state provision, contingent on engagement in any reasonable form
of paid employment which can be offered. All potential and actual welfare claimants are
held to be responsible for their own and their families’ well-being if they are able bodied
and if opportunities to be self-sufficient are forthcoming, (Fergusson, 2002, p.178).
Although the drop in youth unemployment is due in part to NDYP, the figures available
are misleading. By June 2001, not even a third of the 640,000 young people who had
begun NDYP (since 1998) had secured unsubsidised employment; while 43% did not
complete their 13 week job placements – the period seen as achieving ‘sustained
employment’. The fate of 25% of ‘starters’ were unknown, (Unemployment Unit/
Youthaid, 2001a). Fergusson states that the disappointing effectiveness of NDYP is
due in part to its strict conditions, using a number of instruments, from continuing active
one-to-one advice to progressive withdrawal of benefits for persistent refusal, to secure
participation in prescribed programmes. Such strict conditions to require participation
for young people were unprecedented in the UK. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion
that high throughput, high turnover and low retention rates are the direct result of the
mandatory nature of NDYP, (pp.178, 180)

Importantly and disappointingly, NDYP provides provision at 18 and ignores those aged
16 to 18. There is no statutory provision therefore for those aged 16-18, who are
‘supposed’ to either go onto FE, traineeships and be supported by their parent/s. It is
this age group, especially those with few, low or without qualifications, who are most at
risk of exclusion, (especially if they are also living independently), ..16 is a critical point
when for some, problems that have been brewing for years reach a crisis, and for other,
22
problems begin that could have been avoided. Both groups – and society more
generally – bear the costs for years to come, (p.8, Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) 1999).

The changing nature of the labour market together with the emphasis on HE and the
mandatory compliance nature of labour market policies has meant that, [P]reviously
young people could start at the bottom and work up a career ladder, but ‘stepping stone
jobs’ no longer exist. There are now few work alternatives to educational success. This
has particularly affected those without qualifications and from low-income households:
they are more likely to experience early unemployment, which affects both later
employment and earning power, (Connor, Dewson, Tyers, Eccles, Regan and Aston,
2001, RR267, DfES).

By assuming that 18 years of age is ‘year dot’, NDYP is failing its own remit by
excluding those young people most at risk.

2.5 Connexions
A direct result or product from the Social Exclusion Unit’s report (1999) was the national
initiative ‘Connexions’. Aimed at young people aged 13-19 or for those young people
with learning difficulties/disabilities, support can continue beyond 19. Connexions
guides and supports teenagers in their transition to adulthood and working life. The
service is delivered mainly through a network of personal advisers drawn from a range
of existing public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations. The service is
a ‘one-stop-shop’ providing broad advice on all issues, from education, training,
employment, health and leisure as well as targeted one-to-one advice. (Annex 4 gives
an overview of other Government Policy Initiatives and Annex 5 lists other organisations
working with young people).

According to the National Association of Connexions Partnerships (NACP), Connexions

partnerships have helped cut the number of young people not in education, work or
training (NEET) by an average of 14% over two years. Although overall exceeding
government targets, six of the 47 partnerships fell short of this figure. Nationally,
Connexions Cheshire and Warrington was one of the best performing partnerships, with
a 32% reduction in disengaged young people. The partnership attributed their success
to a combination of

9 outreach work
9 early intervention approaches (e.g. some partnerships have been working with 16-
year-olds since they were 13)
9 supported work placements

A current review of Connexions which will form the basis of the (delayed) Green Paper
on Youth, suggests that despite its success, the government believes that the current
education and careers guidance system in England is unsustainable. The Green Paper
will contain three separate strands; one concerned with 'places to go and things to do',
the second with issues of ‘vulnerability’ and the third with ‘support’, including advice and

23
guidance. Early findings of the review state that Connexions lacks the capacity to
deliver both targeted support and broader universal careers education and guidance to
young people, (Young People Now, www.ypnmagazine.com). The review favours
careers education and guidance to be delivered through schools, colleges and work-
based learning. In part this attempt to better define services is in response to the more
complex curriculum proposed by the Tomlinson review of 14 to 19 education, (14-19
Reform). This would have funding implications for Connexions, as it would result in a
transferral of some funds for targeted provision to local authorities and subsequently
may affect the nature of their wide-ranging holistic work it currently undertakes.

2.6 14-19 Pathfinders

The government’s 14-19 pathfinder initiatives encourage partnership and collaboration
between schools, colleges, employers, training providers and universities. Importantly,
these partnerships are aimed at responding to local needs and conditions, building on
the characteristics and profile of localities. The 39 pathfinders are designed to assess
local delivery of 14-19 education and training in a range of local settings, and will inform
the development of national 14-19 education and training set to be mainstreamed in
2005/ 2006. Current pathfinders are therefore a ‘test’ and will highlight the costs of new
policy and practice in this area.

In January 2003, the first twenty five pathfinders (‘phase one’) have became
operational. They are aimed at introducing more choice so that programmes can better
suit and reflect individual skills and needs. Phase 2 (2004/ 2005) was a period of
consolidation and also innovation, with many pathways providing additional support and
services.
(Annex 6 illustrates 14-19 Pathfinders Good Practice examples).

2.7 14-19 Reform

Current developments in educational policy are responding to the call for more
vocationally centred qualifications and are focusing on strengthening vocational routes
for those aged 14-19 years of age. The proposals aim to raise the quality of the overall
vocational package and provide opportunities for achievement and progression in the
same ways as academic studies. This does not mean trying to fit vocational
programmes into an ‘academic’ mould, but recognising what is distinctive and valuable
about vocational learning and ensuring that it is respected and valued in its own right,
(14-19 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform: Final report of the Working Group on 14-
19 Reform, 2004, p.6). The changes propose the introduction of a unified framework of
diplomas, which provide clear pathways through the 14-19 phase into FE, HE, training
and employment. The diploma aims to reflect sectoral skills needs and will combine
academic and practical project-based units and modules. Engaging employers is
highlighted as key to the success of any new initiative. Their involvement is crucial,
whether it be informing the development of the curriculum, delivering diploma
components, acting as mentors or providing effective work experience placements.
Engaging employers in investing their time and money in young people will be a
challenge as will be selling the new diploma to them.

24
The role of employers deserves a particular mention. The young people, youth workers
and NDYP advisors interviewed in this research agreed that employers do not do
enough, especially in terms of investing their time, experience and money in preparing
their future employees. The issue for employers though is that they view ‘education’ as
the role of the state and the education sector. Favoured solutions given are that
employers should be more involved in schools by giving talks and presentations on their
particular field or business. This could be achieved by giving Professional Bodies the
responsibility at local level of encouraging their members to become more involved with
their local schools and FE institutions. This should be a condition of their membership
and part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. Also, it is up to
employers, to make their sectors more attractive to young people. As much
responsibility though there is on the shoulders of young people to be ‘employable’,
employers must inform young people about employment opportunities and ‘sell’ their
sectors, (Annex 7 Construction Industry Council, ‘Construction is not all about ‘mud and
boots’ press release, November 2002, promoting a recruitment video targeted at 14-18
year olds, Building Visions – creative careers in the construction professions)

If employers do not get more involved and become ‘partners’ in vocational programmes,
then those who have already been taught in oversized classrooms, and have been
encouraged to go to University will continue to find themselves with skills and
qualifications which are surplus to requirements. The 14-19 Vocational proposals will
take at least ten years to implement, giving the Government enough time to encourage
employers to become much more involved in its development, practice and
assessment.

2.8 Higher Education

Aimhigher, is a government initiative aimed at improving the progression of under-
represented young people into HE. It is implemented via local partnerships of schools,
colleges and universities in order to promote participation through supportive measures
such as mentoring, summer schools and university visits. Aimhigher is one measure
assisting the government in achieving its 50% HE participation target of young people
aged 18-30 by 2010.

In terms of widening access and participation to disadvantaged young people (defined

by where they live), participation has indeed increased, but primarily for those from
wealthier backgrounds, the most advantaged 20 per cent of young people are up to six
times more likely to enter higher education than the most disadvantaged 20 per cent,
(p.97 HEFCE, Youth participation in higher education, 2005). This recent report
supports previous research which looked at social class and HE participation, [F]ewer
than one in five young people from the lower social class group (IIIm, IV and V)
participate in HE, although this proportion has been increasing, it remains well below
the 45 per cent who participate from the higher social class groups (IIIn, II and I), a
figure which has also been increasingly rapidly over the years. Lower social class
groups represent 28 per cent of the total entrants to full-time undergraduate study, a
lower share than their 39 per cent in the population as a whole, (p.5, Connor, Dewson,
Tyers, Eccles, Regan and Aston, , 2001, RR267, DfES). Those from more deprived
backgrounds who do enter into HE are more likely to attend the ‘new’ Universities, and
sadly are more likely to drop out, due to the pressure of study, cost or not liking/ wanting
to change courses.

25
Although the HE target is admirable in that it aims to promote wider equality and widen
participation and access to ‘all’, there does exist a genuine tension between the policy’s
honourable aspirations and the ‘real’ world. The ‘50% into HE’ policy has also received
heavy criticism from those concerned with the ‘skills time bomb’. A survey of employers
undertaken by the Association of Graduate Recruiters in 2003 illustrated that six out of
ten firms believed government policy of expanding HE was having an adverse impact
on graduate quality and that there were too many graduates, (The Guardian, ‘Too
many graduates’, bosses say, 20 January 2004). Research also shows that on average
only a third of graduates are entering graduate level jobs, (The Guardian, Graduate
gloom about job chances, 21 April 2004) and recent PricewaterhouseCoopers research
states,
students considering going to university should take note of the current oversupply of
graduates in the employment marketplace and also consider direct entry to the
workplace from school, (The Graduates of 2004 – A Disillusioned Generation?, 2005).

At the 2001 National City and Guilds Conference attended by training organisations,
employers, trade unions, LSCs, HE and FE, 62% of delegates felt the government
policy of getting 50% of young people into HE as bad for business and the economy.
Also, 54% of delegates felt that ‘employers’ need to contribute the most in bridging the
skills gap, (‘Government’ came second with 23% and ‘LSCs’ third with 11%). In relation
to possible solutions and tools, in education 46% of delegates felt that ‘changes to the
national curriculum’ would contribute most to a solution if one of the root causes of
supply side problems lies in secondary schools. In employment, ‘tax credits’ was seen
to be the most effective and politically acceptable way to stimulate skills training in
employment by 5% of delegates and a ‘training levy’ by 35%.

It is not surprising that those in disagreement with Government policy favour more
vocationally or work based initiatives and programmes,
[B]right sixth-formers being encouraged or advised to pursue a vocational rather than an
‘academic’ (however anaemic) post-school route is, I suspect, as rare as hen’s teeth.
And it is this snobby and elitist discrimination against vocational educational and the
obsession with pushing ever more young people into higher education that is partly
behind Britain’s ‘skills gap’, (Ruth Lea, ‘Bother your ‘ologies and ‘ometries, The Skills
Debate, Article 6, The Spectator).

Modern Apprenticeships offer a more vocational pathway, an alternative ‘middle way’

and can be completed in 12-17 months. As highlighted earlier in this report, the £40
training allowance is inadequate and is a huge obstacle for many independent young
people resulting in non-completion. The Cassels Report argues that other common
problems with apprenticeships include weak initial assessment and induction, key skills
delivery, and poor liaison with employers (Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee,
2001).

Despite Government claims that graduates will on average earn £400,000 more in their
lifetime than non-graduates, the financial rewards are misleading, and investing in HE
can be too high a risk for many young people, (DfES 2002). Any forecast requires as
accurate a prediction as possible of graduate earnings over the next 30 to 40 years,
which is an impossible task as salaries vary according to degree subject and class,
institution attended, age, gender, ethnic background, school attended and social class,
(Higher Education Policy Institute, citing Why average rates of return will fail to
persuade, THES, 10 January 2003). The claim also fails to calculate the income tax
and other contributions graduates contribute during their lifetime.
26
Even if such financial gains will occur, many graduates face having to pay off huge
student loans estimated to be anywhere from £9,000-£15,000, (www.bbc.co.uk, DfES,
etc). With such debts many graduates feel ‘cheated’ and let down despite having ‘done
the right thing’. A degree does not guarantee a well paid (graduate) job and this reality
together with financial burdens effects other areas of life such as buying a home and
starting a family,

What was it all about? The years spent studying with no income save student
loans, doing without, scrimping. Then, when you do get a job, half your money
goes into paying off debts, the other half in rent - because of the outright greed
that is driving up house prices. This false wealth is making life hell for those
looking to get on in this miserable little country that we've created. Great Britain?
What's so Great about it?
(Quarter-Life Crisis, ‘Have Your Say’ page, www.bbc.co.uk)

Research undertaken by The Work Foundation, (2003), supports the view that the
expectations young people have, are at least in part due to cultural shifts in society [A]
more ‘consumerist’ and transactional approach towards higher education, jobs and
careers may be a product of our more individualised times. Compared to 30 years ago,
young workers have wider choice and access to other opportunities, such as continuing
education, travel or other work opportunities. Even cultural phenomena, such as the
dotcom boom and youthful, high-earning celebrities who are millionaires before they are
30, all put work under pressure to be exciting, sexy and sociable, (p.8).

2.9 The ‘Burden of Opportunity’

One of the negative aspects of increased affluence in society is that there is greater
freedom and choice (whether perceived or actual). Young people are seen as ‘lucky’
and ‘spoilt’ and having so much going for them. But, greater choice brings increased
stress and pressure which can lead to unachieved high expectations and
disillusionment. Paradoxically, the current era of endless possibilities coincides with an
increase in the rate and occurrence of family breakdown and depression, anxiety, stress
and suicides among young people. Research shows that 50% of 15-19 year olds would
like to reduce the stress in their lives while 28% of 15-23 year olds say they would take
a lower paid job if it meant less stress, (The Henley Centre, 2001).

Traditionally, sociologists have proposed two mechanisms or social forces, which affect
the suicide rate; these are social integration and social/moral regulation. This is
illustrated, for example, by the transformation of our social institutions and infrastructure
including the church and religion, community, family and the economy and their
relevance. It may be the case that the expectations to achieve are incongruous with the
means to achieve them in contemporary society. An 'age of individualism' stops young

27
people reaching out for help. It is helpful to try and understand individual behaviour as
a social problem, to be understood in the social as well as individual context. More so,
these two mechanisms also explain and measure disillusion, depression and
disengagement. In Suicide, Durkheim purported that economic well-being (or collapse)
can disguise a sense of disorder and unhappiness, the more one has, the more one
wants, since satisfactions received only stimulate instead of filling needs (2002).

In The Division of Labour in Society, (1884), Durkheim proposed two concepts. First,
that societies evolved from a simple, non-specialised form, called mechanical, toward a
highly complex, specialised form, called organic. In the former society, people behave
and think alike and more or less perform the same work tasks and have the same
group-oriented goals. When societies become more complex, or organic, work also
becomes more complex. In this society, people are no longer tied to one another and
social bonds are more impersonal. Individuals cannot find their place in society without
clear rules to help guide them,

I do feel that the 20 somethings have a disadvantage in that they are the victims of
and education system that had "no rules" - be yourself was the motto and this has
left them less capable of fitting in easily with the norms of society and work.
(www.bbc.co.uk)

Anomie refers to a breakdown of social norms and describes a condition where norms
no longer control the activities of members in society because there is a lack of a
dominant moral framework leading to a weakening of the regulation of individual
behaviour. Changing conditions as well as adjustment of life leads to dissatisfaction,
conflict, and deviance. Thus, any rapid movement in the social structure that upsets
previous networks in which life styles are embedded carries with it a chance of anomie.
Young people today are particularly at risk of disengagement.

While anomie can affect all sections of society not just young people, the quarter life
crisis is a recent term specifically coined for the disengagement felt by many twenty and
thirty something professionals. Robbins and Wilmer (2001) were the first to fully
acknowledged, document and ‘name’ the condition in their book, Quarterlife Crisis: How
to Get Your Head Round Life in Your Twenties. Other books have since followed
(Jowell, 2003, Robbins, 2004 and Barr 2004). The characteristics of the phenomenon
are uncertainty, self-doubt, setting high or unrealistic expectations, a fear of failure or a
feeling of having failed, disappointment, a sense of hopelessness, resentment and last
but not least, a feeling of being deceived.
”…You know, in less than 5 months, I'll be 20. This is scary. Isn't one supposed to
have things worked out by 20? Isn't one supposed to be on one's way? Really, I
have it less together now than I did when I was 14, and I ask myself what the hell I've
been doing for the last five years. Quarter-life crisis, you say. But this isn't any good.
People get married at my age. Shouldn't I be okay with things by now? Shouldn't I
be able to do things in the outside world without having to reassure myself that I'll be
back out of it soon? Of course, as they stand things aren't really all that bad. But this
isn't where I want to be when I'm 25, or 30, or 40. And I'm just wondering if I'm too far
gone now, and maybe this is just what I'm going to be, and that's what's scary,
because it's something I never intended. I think that Sarah of 14 would be
disappointed to see Sarah of right now…”
The quote was posted on an individual’s personal web site under the heading, "Quarter-Life
Crisis”. It is used here with permission (although the individual’s name has been changed)

28
It is a phenomenon which attempts to explain the ‘crisis’ faced by many young people
from their late teens and into their thirties in relation to ‘achievers’ and young
professionals and those in, leaving or who have recently left HE. The Director of
Warwick’s Careers Advisory service has commented, “I am confident that many
students are experiencing the quarter-life crisis while they are here at Warwick, and I
also believe that many more find it once they leave and start on the next phase of their
lives”, (Warwick Boar - CORE - Week 8, Autumn, 2002 - Volume 25, Issue 7).

Much of the disappointment and feelings of being deceived is one of not realising one’s
own or society’s raised expectations. Graduates feel they deserve to find a well paid
job in the field of their choice/study. They have ‘done the right thing’ by continuing their
education and want their just rewards,

As one of the many suckered into completing a media degree I have found it
impossible to get work in the area I have studied in. What is the point of running so
many courses throughout the country covering the same subject when there are
nowhere near enough jobs to go around? You can't get the work without the
experience and you can't get the experience without the work. No matter how well
you do, in some fields it's not what you know but who.
(www.bbc.co.uk)

Although to the cynic, it appears that these young people are suffering from nothing
more than a large dose of options, making a choice can indeed be a struggle, As a
University Careers Advisor stated, There are all sorts of new jobs, new job titles, new
fields opening up. It's a bewildering array of choice. In the long term that is good but
sometimes too much choice can be a bad thing, (www.bbc.co.uk)

The quarter life crisis and anomie reflect the labour market and society as a whole;
competitive, short-term, temporary, profit driven, flexible which by its nature will create
insecurity and weak social bonds in individuals. As one individual commented on the
quarter life crisis,

There is definitely a problem, but I don't think it is confined to twenty-somethings -

anyone who has to cope with 2 mobiles, a desk phone, 2 fax machines, and very
active e-mail and being on call 24x7 for work knows what this pressure is like -
sometimes you just want to run away. It's real because so many reference points
have disappeared. The flipside of an open economy is no guarantees- and a
feeling that everyone else has it sorted- when they really don't.
(www.bbc.co.uk)

We are surrounded by images of success and designer lifestyles, and in an ‘anything is

possible’ society the risk of failure is much greater,

Our society (and particularly advertising-led media) constantly exposes us to

images of beauty, success and affluence. Most people see a massive gap

29
 between their aspirations and the reality of their lives. In the fairly recent past there
was not such a massive gap or 'deficit': Opportunities were possibly less, but so
were expectations.
(www.bbc.co.uk)

2.10 How Soon is Now? - Achieving ‘Life Statuses’

There are certain ‘life statuses’, or milestones which define one’s personal progress
from adolescent or young person to adult. They are defining moments which are both
the product and manifestation of increased life experience, maturity, wealth,
independence and responsibility for oneself and others. These milestones include
getting married, buying a house and having children. Today’s youth are much older
homeowners than previous generations and are having fewer (if any) children. The
turnaround between generations has been remarkably rapid. In the 1940s, only one in
10 women was childless. Now, that figure stands at almost one in four, (Joanna
Briscoe, The generation that took a gamble, Saturday September 13, 2003, The
Guardian). The reasons for these ‘delays’ are interlinked –
(a) policies (e.g. the structure and availability of support/ financial constraints),and,
(b) culture (e.g. individualisation and the subsequent changes in society).

Although many women are delaying having children because of their careers, the costs
of child care (after statutory maternity leave) and the reality of not being able to cope
financially on a single wage also influences these so called ‘choices’. With limited
infrastructure to support working mothers, not all women can afford to take time out
from work. Those that do are often from the female elite who can afford to choose; who
either have saved sufficient funds, are self-employed, have extended paid maternity
leave or have partners who are high earners. For those women who are benefit-
dependant before having children, trying to find employment which can cover the cost of
housing, childcare and bills is extremely hard and many, (indeed most), remain in the
benefits trap as work simply ‘does not pay’.

The financial and cultural pressures for women to work are also great. Although
admitting that her comments may have been 'misguided', the Minister for Women,
Patricia Hewitt criticised women who choose not to work, stating that stay at home
mothers were failing to pay the state back for the cost of their education, (the Women
and Equality Unit). This gives a clear indication of government thinking and priorities,
that is, the economy first and family life second, (Lisa O'Kelly, It beats working, Sunday
June 6, 2004, The Observer). Indeed, ‘the family’ as the stable, conventional life-long
unit is fading. Both women and men are faced with often incompatible demands and
expectations, where private and professional boundaries of what is and isn’t acceptable
are redrawn, (Beck-Gernstein, 2002), and gender roles (e.g. division of labour and the
‘breadwinner’ and ‘provider’) are now blurred. For example, current discourse on, and
expectations of ‘family values’ and ‘community cohesion’ sit very uncomfortably
alongside the reality of work with it’s long hours culture, uncertain/flexible employment
tenures, competitiveness, speed and change and being available 24/7 thanks to email
and the mobile phone. As Jill Kirby writes, This Government has a vision of family life,
which appears to be based on an assumption that men and women should be
homogenous and interchangeable. In this vision, all adults of working age, regardless of
gender or parental status, should be in full-time paid employment, earning the same
amount of money and taking equal shares in their domestic responsibilities. The
problem is that this vision ignores the changes, which come about in the lives of women
when they become mothers. It assumes that, given the choice between work and home
30
responsibilities, women will exercise that choice in the same way as men. In other
words, that their priority will be participation in the job market. But the evidence shows
that the choices women make are based on a different set of priorities from those of
their male counterparts, (2003).

For women, discrimination, (e.g. unequal pay and glass ceilings) still exists in the
workplace and for those in work who plan to have children, current EOC research
shows that, [E]ach year around 30,000 working women are sacked, made redundant or
leave their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination, (press release, www.eoc.org.uk ,
results available Summer 2005). For women (those aged 16-25, and above) it is clear
then that discrimination and prejudice still exists in relation to deciding to be a ‘stay at
home’ mother, accessing childcare facilities,(allowing them to (re-)enter the labour
market) and also, as the current EOC research illustrates, in employment. As with
women, balancing ‘family values’ and work is irreconcilable for many men, who find the
expectation of being both an ambitious, ruthless and hard working employee and a
sensitive modern family man difficult to pull off.

Becoming home owners – another adult ‘life status’ – is proving extremely difficult for
young first time buyers who are faced with a booming house market which has seen
prices increase by approximately 23% yearly. For all young people, not just those
traditionally seen as ‘excluded’ or ‘disadvantaged’ becoming home owners is almost
impossible, [A]t most points in the past, young graduate couples could confidently
dream of the well-worn ownership path from a graduate flat to a three-bed family home
before finally snaring that five-bed dream house in the suburbs, but with prices rising by
244 per cent in the capital and at least 82 per cent in our cities over the last 10 years,
that kind of progression is increasingly difficult, (Greg Gordon, Decline and fall of trading
up, Sunday November 7, 2004, The Observer). Although wages usually correspond to
where you live and are therefore accordingly – in theory – relative to house prices, in
practice this is not the case. Current wages are now worth less than 1997 and 12%
less than the Baby Boomer generation. A couple (let alone a single person) is finding
achieving the first foot-hold on the property ladder difficult.

This financial burden has immediate and future knock on effects for young people. We
are all now part of a ‘plastic’ and ‘debt’ society, but many YP have increased burdens
due to house prices and student loans, (e.g. BBC programme ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’),
and looking ahead, the pension crisis looms,
Everyday I struggle to find the will to go on. I'm 29 and have been made redundant 3
times. Because of this I have no pension built up, even though I have been working
for 13 years. I've not been able to build a career or have proper salary increases. To
buy a small two-bed terrace house in a rough area of where I live would cost me
£160,000. A studio flat is currently about £97,000. I don't live in London, God alone
knows how much you need there to buy property. In short I've got no future have I,
no job, no home, no pension for my old age, but it's not going to go away when I hit
30. I imagine it will only get worse.
(www.bbc.co.uk)

31
3 FIELD RESEARCH
The field research explored a variety of different issues with different stakeholders
through interviews and questionnaires. All these issues were central to the research,
and are outlined below.

The 26 questionnaires used with community youth groups and NDYP advisors were
returns from a mail-out. A few were followed up with telephone interviews – where the
individual agreed to follow-up contact.

Access proved to be an important issue. Project and programmes co-ordinators initially

contacted were particular concerned about client confidentiality, fragility and research
fatigue.

3.1 Questionnaires
The questionnaire was made up of three parts,

PART 1 – EMPLOYMENT
This section explored how decided young people were in relation to their career choices
and goals and what were the main influences behind these choices (e.g. financial,
genuine interest, opportunity to travel, career progression, good benefits /perks and
family, school, programmes, media, employer or peer pressure/ influence).

PART 2 - EMPLOYABILITY - ‘attributes’

This section asked how important are particular attributes and skills in order for young
people to compete in today’s labour market? (e.g. qualifications, work experience,
communication skills, confidence and self esteem, flexible/ adaptable, motivation,
resourcefulness and appearance, etc.).

This section also asked youth workers about the main impact(s) of their work
(programme) on young people. How did they (through their work) ‘empower’ their
clients? (e.g. give young people control of choices, provide supportive relationships,
confidence /self esteem, knowledge, skills/skills development, an environment for
networking and develop and instil responsibility, etc.).

PART 3 – DISCRIMINATION
This section was used to explore what (if any) discrimination had been experienced with
the young people themselves. Also, the question, who discriminates? was asked, (e.g.
employers, peers and media, etc.).

In relation to other SEQUAL themes, this section asked the young people and youth
workers about their experience and views relating to disability, religious and political
belief, gender, race and sexual orientation).

32
3.2 Young People and Youth ‘Experts’
The generic questionnaire was used with
• 5 young people who were tracked during the project (Table 9, below)
• 4 youth ‘experts’ (reference group or ‘sounding board’)
• 16 community based youth groups
• 10 New Deal for Young People advisers

The young people tracked were all volunteers. It was crucial for the research to be
informed by young people who wanted to give their input, rather than to ‘cherry-pick’ or
‘compensate’ or ‘reward’ individuals for their time. Despite hardly being representative
in terms of numbers, the five individuals had very diverse backgrounds (e.g. class, race
and political status). Their experiences, views, interests and concerns were felt to be
extremely honest, genuine and valid. Meetings were held every two or three months,
informally in London, usually in fast-food outlets or in parks. Email and telephone
contact was used in between meetings when necessary.

The four youth experts responded to mail-outs or were recommended to the researcher.
Emails were exchanged between meetings and their expertise, advice and input were
very helpful in giving a wider perspective to the issues surrounding young people. They
were experienced youth workers and professionals in the field,
• Connexions Personal Advisor
• Manager - Behavioural Improvement Project (BIP) in Hackney working with
schools
• Manager - Advice & Counselling Service in Greenwich
• Project and Management Consultant who had previously been a teacher, youth
worker and had extensive knowledge of youth-work issues, project and
programmes.
Two ‘experts’ changed jobs during the research.

Table 9 Profile of Young People ‘tracked’ on the project

ALICE Female – Black Single parent GNVQ Health and Social Care, with
Connexions background a view to do a childminding course
(mother remarried (and then to study child psychology
2003) at University)
MARY Female - Mixed Single parent GNVQ Health and Social Care, with
race background (divorced) a view to do a childminding course.
Community Unsure about HE
group
JANE Female – White Refugee background A’ levels (with view to study
Connexions (Kosovar) pharmacology at University)
STEVE Male – White Mental Health Issues IT Diploma course and Business
Connexions (diagnosed with Studies (BS).
epilepsy approx 3 yrs Dropped BS as could not cope after
ago) being diagnosed with epilepsy.
Feels there was/is a lack of support
at school
JOHN Male – White Single parent Starting International Relations BSc
Independent background (father at University (Oct ’04). Concerned
died at early age) about student loans – estimated at
33
 7-10K each year.

3.3 Employment
All the young people had a clear idea of what they wanted to do except for STEVE.
ALICE, JANE and JOHN all had plans to go to University. Although MARY,
experienced health problems during the research and had to change child-minding
courses she remained surprisingly and extremely focused and resilient on progressing
onto another course (related to childcare) after completing her current one. JOHN
hopes to emigrate to Canada a year or two after graduation, in order to have a “better
quality of life”, maybe to work as a researcher in the social sciences. STEVE was
diagnosed with epilepsy just before the research had begun, and as a result of not
being able to cope, dropped one of his two courses. He suffers from a lack of
concentration and a “bad memory”. He is determined to complete his course but had no
decisive opinion about what he wanted to do afterwards as managing the epilepsy was
the main concern and remained so throughout the research. STEVE’s experience
highlights the long road to being, and indeed, feeling ‘job-ready’.

In terms of employment as child minders, child psychologists, primary school teachers,

ALICE and MARY were very aware of the qualifications required, how long they would
have to study, what subjects, appropriate legislation, safety and confidentiality issues
and what options were available to them (e.g. working abroad). JOHN planned to do an
MA but he was still unsure what in.

For all the young people, the main reason for their choice of career is interest. ALICE
and MARY recognised also that childcare was a good profession to go into, “people are
always going to have kids”, offering good financial prospects and other attractive
possibilities; “you can work from home or travel abroad”. JANE stated that her choice of
studying pharmacology was also based on the belief that “it’s secure, a good
sector…people will always need medicine”. STEVE believed IT was “secure”.

Both ALICE and MARY spend at least one day a week at job placement (at a children’s
nursery) which is organised by their college. They both “adore” children and find the
work rewarding despite feeling that they are not treated with respect, valued and are
given the “crap jobs to do”. They find the placements useful as there is some continuity
to the work allowing them to learn things, develop their skills and build relationships,
ALICE, “you become a member of the team”.

All the young people described the world of work as “competitive and hard”, JANE had
great confidence in the future and described herself as a “terrier…I can’t wait to get in
there!.” She believed that the labour market offered work “…for everyone. If you want to
work, everyone has their place and there’s a place for everyone”. ALICE said “you have
to look after No1”. MARY stated “you have to work longer these days”. Both ALICE and
MARY showed an understanding of the world of childcare and childminding saying that
working with children is “emotional and difficult”, and based on recent high profile abuse
cases, they had an awareness of the potential health and safety issues , complications

34
and risks involved (e.g Louise Woodward in the USA). STEVE was concerned about
how employers and work colleagues would treat him in relation to his epilepsy, “you
can’t see it so I might just lie, I don’t want to be treated differently”.

Ironically JOHN had more concerns about the world of work, “I don’t know if my degrees
will get me what I want. I like studying and it’s an investment, but I’m not sure it’ll be
immediately worth it”. JOHN estimates he will have to take a student loan of £7,000-
£10,000 each year for fees and to support himself in London. He plans to work during
holidays in order to pay off the loans each year so he does not graduate with an
enormous student loan hanging over his head. This though has other implications, “I
don’t want my work to suffer, but I’ll manage. I’d rather work and study now then be
stressed out about a growing debt…”

Work experience was seen as being crucial to both learning and developing skills and
combating the view that young people have no experience, as JANE stated “employers
think we don’t have the skills or experience”. Short-term, one-off work experience
placements were seen to be inadequate and piecemeal, ALICE “employers take
advantage by using work experience to make us do jobs no one else will do”, and JANE
”running errands and photocopying, that’s all I did…it was a waste of time for
everybody…”.

3.4 Spheres of Influence and Stakeholder Responsibility

Family, friends, schools, programmes and projects, employers and the media play an
important role in influencing the views, decisions, choice of employment and career and
expectations young people have or make. Although these stakeholders and the
relationship a young person has with them can be empowering and positive, it is also
important to recognise that these can also be disempowering, for example issues such
as family breakdown, peer pressure, unrealistic role models all affect a young persons
behaviour, expectations and choices, youth is the stage of life during which we are most
imprintable, (p. 289, Mannheim, The Problem of Generations, Clarenden Press, 1952).
The immediate family and close circle of friends are the most important and influential
relationships. It is these relationships that young people trust, as ALICE and MARY
agreed, “my family and a few close friends…that’s it!”. Definitions of trust vary for young
people and whether trust is an outcome or a source is also debatable and problematic.

In relation to the influence of other stakeholders to their career choice, ALICE and
MARY stated that the choice was theirs and influenced purely by interest although they
received a lot of advice from the Connexions Advisor and a lot of support from their
parents. For JANE, the main influence in choosing pharmacology was her parents who
wanted her to get a secure and professional job. JANE is more interested in “the
media”, but is happy to pursue pharmacology because “I can see the benefits and it’s
the right thing to do”. For STEVE and JOHN the choice of course was their own,
although STEVE had a lot of support from his Advisor and parents.

In relation to the general question of “what are the main influences in young people’s
choices”, peer pressure was seen by far as the strongest factor, MARY stated, “a lot of
friends just started courses in beauty therapy because their mates were doing it and
then they dropped out. They’re just not thinking ahead”. ALICE, MARY and JANE felt

35
that peer pressure could be alleviated if there were “more options made available”.
Schools were seen as central in facilitating change by offering more information on
choices available as well as advising individuals properly when “it’s obvious they’re
doing something because of their mates”.

Peer pressure was also seen as having negative effects beyond simply course or career
choice. All the young people stated that drugs featured heavily. Smoking pot was
common and obtaining drugs “was easy”. A 2004 European survey UK respondents
(505 young people) aged 15-14 rated peer pressure (62%) the highest reason why
people experiment with drugs, followed by curiosity (59%) and thrill seeking (47%). In
relation to access to drugs, 51% of those aged 15-24 stated it is easy to get drugs in or
near my school/college, while 65% stated it is easy to get drugs near where I live. 38%
had already tried cannabis and 18% had tried other drugs. In terms of gender,
education and class, young men, those with lower qualifications and in low skilled and
manual jobs tended to experiment with drugs more than others, (EOS Gallup Europe,
2004).

In response to the question of “what should the main influences be”, employers were
seen as key in promoting their jobs and being more involved in informing the choices of
young people. Both ALICE and MARY learnt ‘what employers want’ as part of their
GNVQ course. They found this helpful – especially the more practical advice
surrounding CV building and letter writing. Even so, employers could do more. Talks
were seen as a way they could describe what they do, explain what qualifications you
need to get and how long you would need to train or study for, as well as outline what a
typical day or week might entail.

JANE stated, “Employers should be more involved. They should ‘recycle’ real
experience. Real people should talk to young people more”. MARY said employers
were a “…challenge. They think we’re kids and that’ll never change!”.

The young people felt that they do not get a wide enough idea of “what jobs are out
there” and this is supported by research undertaken by the Industrial Society, (1997)
which showed that 63% of young people aged 16-25 felt that schools did not prepare
them for the real world. And PricewaterhouseCoopers commented, whilst the survey
shows that many finalists are not in fact disillusioned, as had been suggested in some
recent student surveys, some of them do appear to be somewhat ill-informed… there is
some potential waste of talent as a result of this lack of research into the graduate job
market. The sooner this year’s (and next year’s) finalists set about researching and
applying for jobs, the better for them and for their potential employers, (The Graduates
of 2004 – A Disillusioned Generation?, 2005).

For youth workers in community youth groups and NDYP advisors, parents/guardians,
peers and programmes/projects were seen as the current main influencers on young
people in terms of support and influencing their career choices. Although peers were
seen as an inevitable influence, their responses to who should be the main influencers,
put schools, programmes/ projects and parents top. Employers were seen as important
but not crucial. What we can see is that for those who work and advise young people,
great emphasis is given to conduits and facilitators of support and influence, such as
parents/ guardians, schools and programmes/ projects.

36
What is also clear is that young people need and require more information from real
employers, whose engagement is vital in providing young people with information on
real jobs based on experience. The young people being tracked all were keen to hear
about what “other” and alternative jobs were ‘out there’ based on real experience;
graphic designers, textile/ fashion designers, pharmacists, journalists and architects
were all mentioned by the young people. One NDYP advisor highlighted the danger of
training and career choices being influenced by the media and fashion, “…there was
funding pumped into a DJ course and nothing else. Why? Because everyone wanted
to be the next big DJ in Ibiza and in the clubs. The fact is, only maybe 1 or 2 will make
it, the others will fail. What a waste of money…”. Other professional highlighted a
similar point and emphasised the problem of raising expectations about and promoting,
“jobs and lifestyles which are frankly unattainable”.

One youth ‘expert’ was cynical about the politics behind local partnership, stating,
“Partnership are just another ‘measure’ about ‘measures’ rather than changing the
culture of work”, adding that “territorialism exists” between different services, as “targets
have to be met”. Targets were seen as a burden and counterproductive by all the
experts. In relation to schools, one ‘expert’ commented, “education is underfunded.
Teachers have a specific brief - to follow a curriculum – a measurement issue again.
Schools don’t see potential, [in young people], or try to find it”.

3.5 Employability ‘Attributes’

Most of the attributes listed in the questionnaire were seen to be important although
when pushed to choose the most important 5 or 6, the young people showed
awareness of what employers want and were very consistent in their views.

ALICE felt that the most important attributes are being/having;

Independent; communication skills; patience; humour; resilience and responsible for
yourself

MARY felt that the most important attributes are being/having;

Qualifications; communication skills; interpersonal skills; responsible-self and
appearance

JANE felt that the most important attributes are being/having;

Qualifications; communication skills; interpersonal skills; motivation; quick thinker;
reflection; resourcefulness and appearance, (the latter “because it’s important to
others”)

STEVE felt that the most important attributes are being/having;

Qualifications; work experience; communication skills; interpersonal skills and
appearance

JOHN felt that the most important attributes are being/having;

Qualifications; communication skills; interpersonal skills; motivation; quick thinker;
resourcefulness; responsible for self and for others.

37
Although all the attributes in the questionnaire were seen to be important, community
youth workers and NDYP advisors saw;
work experience, communication skills, appearance (in relation to employers), flexibility,
interpersonal skills, confidence and self esteem, motivation, resourcefulness,
responsibility for self, responsibility for others and being a team player as key
‘employability attributes’.

The youth ‘experts’ highlighted that developing a sense of

‘responsibility to self’ and to others is vital in increasing motivation and combating
apathy in young people.

These skills or attributes were seen as a “foundation, when they have motivation and a
sense of responsibility for themselves and towards others, you’re half way there”. The
Princes Trust Personal 12 step Development Programme was highlighted by two youth
experts as an example of good practice as it aims at improving softer skills (3.6, below).

All the ‘experts’ were concerned about, “the country’s obsession with getting 50% of
young people into higher education”, as one stated, “traditional academia is still more
valued, this needs to be addressed”. All the youth experts, workers and NDYP advisors
highlighted the point of ‘job readiness’. Much more than qualifications, the emphasis
are now on ‘employability’ and developing the skills which will give young people the
chance to compete in the labour market. There was a strong emphasis on building
individual skills. This was meant in terms of recognising that each young person’s
needs are different and that self-responsibility and respect are needed in order to
develop interpersonal skills. Instilling motivation and responsibility were key words
repeated at meetings over and over again, …”you have to get the platform right…a
positive attitude, and then go onto practical job-search skills”.

As well as ‘skilling’ young people for work, where skills such as “tolerance, teambuilding
and communication”, were constantly mentioned, there was a strong emphasis on
preparing young people about work, “about survival and what the world of work is really
like”. As one ‘expert’ said, “one client was surprised at my criticism of him being late for
work, he said, ‘well I got in on time on 2 days’, with a sort of…’what more do you want’
attitude”. Parents were seen as having a strong and potential negative, where a culture
of unemployment and negative attitudes to employment is continued – inherited – from
generation to generation, “some [young people] have lived with parents who have never
worked”. Also, parents sometimes do not work in partnership with youth workers by
failing to attend meetings, showing an interest and most importantly sharing
responsibility, “I called up [name] mum to talk to her about her son but she didn’t see
that he had a problem let alone that maybe she had a role to play in working through it
with him”. Some parents do not want to accept or admit that their child has a problem
since it may reflect negatively on their parenting. Others are uninterested or do not
have the time. Another ‘expert’ stated, “how can you tell a young person he shouldn’t
be swearing at work when the first thing he hears when he gets home is f*** this and f***
that?”

38
The youth experts put much emphasis on socio-political and economic contexts
influencing young people, the labour market, and the relationship between the two,
“[the] community has disappeared. Thatcherism and its emphasis on individualism
means that support structures have disappeared. You’re on your own”. They felt that
young people are expected to ‘fit in’ and adapt to changing structures, economic needs
and policy. This individualism opens up opportunities but simultaneously creates further
risks as few safety nets exist. Beck’s work on individualization and the Risk Society
(1992) proves especially useful in exploring relationships to, and the affects of
structures and social networks on young people.

Youth transitions to adulthood is complex and diverse. Some are determined to some
extent by ‘traditional’ criteria such as race, class and gender but structure is playing a
much more important role and Beck is helpful in framing such developments. He
suggests that an erosion of traditional ties and structures are the results of a global
movement to a new ‘risk society’ where traditional institutions such as the community
and family and values such as loyalty (in the workplace) are made obsolete and no
longer able to deal with the expectations and ‘risks’ of the new modernity.

Again, the process of individualization with general social, demographic and economic
trends have had a powerful impact on the experience of being young. Policy changes
in education, housing, and employment have prolonged the reliance of many young
people on their families (Coles, 1995).

3.6 Needs – ‘Empowerment Indicators’:

expected and actual impact of projects and programmes
Responses to this question from the young people (ALICE, MARY, JANE and STEVE)
illustrated very similar Expectations. These were, gaining or improving knowledge;
skills/ skills development; supportive relationships; resources for help/ information and
networking/ communication. Only JANE felt that she did not receive the resources for
help/information she was hoping for, “more details like statistics and University
prospectuses”. Expectations though were surpassed for three of the four individuals in
gaining an understanding of others; supportive relationships, control of choices, values,
advice and guidance and skills/ skills development. The Connexions service was highly
praised as offering on the whole, “a good wide-ranging service” and it, “doesn’t force
you, but makes you responsible”. The young people felt Connexions “treats you with
respect – like an adult”, something crucial to young people. Only STEVE felt that
although he received a lot of sympathy and advice, a more structured and ‘joined-up’
service is needed to provide genuine support for people who require specialised help
and advice. Current research by the Camelot Foundation and the Mental Health
Foundation believe schools are best placed to offer advice and help to young people
about mental health issues, as they offer a safe and stable environment and most
importantly, are able to reach all young people, something other youth services cannot.

The young people that used the Connexions service and other youth group facilities
stated that, “the relaxed nature and social aspect with no ties is important”,
(‘communities of interest’). ALICE said that her mum also got advice and in the end
was job-searching after being long term unemployed for over a decade.

39
The Princes Trust Personal 12 step Development Programme focuses on giving young
people, aged 16-25 the chance to develop key life skills such as communication;
problem solving; working as part of a team, whilst taking part in challenges which will
help the local communities and environment. The challenge is in effect a project, and
the young person works as part of a team from the outset. With help from a full time
Team Leader and other experts the team chooses a community or environmental
project, and is responsible for all phases, from the planning, organising and fundraising,
and finally to completion

The programme is a 12-week ‘challenge’ and includes team building activities and a
week long residential, ensuring that the individuals get to know each other and work
together effectively. As part of the programme, individuals are expected to attend a
work placement for 2-3 weeks, and during the programme, work on CV building and
interview skills.

The programme is available through FE colleges for volunteers, employed,

unemployed, and anyone interested in improving their skills or anyone with a general
interest in the community. The course is also available as the ‘voluntary option’ to
individuals on the New Deal programme, and lasts 26 weeks.

Practically (and pragmatically) though, money was something mentioned by all young
people as something which would ‘empower’ them. For ALICE and MARY more
disposable income would give them more independence and freedom. ALICE stated
that her grandmother had saved some money to support her through University so she
was not too concerned about fees. Such inter-generational support (financial), transfer
of funds (inheritance) and services (babysitting) is common and has become an
important new field of study, (Kohli, 1996). Since pensions enable grandparents to
alleviate many burdens by helping their children and grandchildren, the future pensions
crisis will have an undoubtedly massive effect on young people.

For JANE money was important in relation to paying fees (etc.) at University in a year or
so. For STEVE, some extra disposable income was welcome. For JOHN, as
mentioned previously, financial assistance with current fees and living expenses would
remove some pressure from his current studies.

In terms of ‘empowerment’ certain key words and themes were repeated throughout the
tracking period. These were
(a) independence – usually obtained with financial means, and
(b) being valued by adults - obtained by older generations – employers (and parents,
teachers, etc.) relinquishing and surrendering some ‘power’ by trusting and giving young
people more responsibility.

Half way through the tracking period, MARY, who had often talked about her wish to
“have my own place”, obtained a hostel room by claiming she had been evicted by her
mother. Despite this being false, her mother wrote a letter to the local authority
corroborating her daughter’s story. MARY saw nothing wrong with what she had done,
stating that she had a “right” to what state provision was available and also that if the
system allows itself to be abused, then it will be.

40
Unbeknown to the local authority, ALICE’S mother had moved away after remarrying.
Even so, ALICE and her brother remained in the house for several months until
neighbours complained about the noise ALICE’S brother and his friends were making.
Again, as with MARY, ALICE did not see that continuing to live in the house was wrong
and illegal in any way, her only regret was getting caught. For both, any questions of
the moral ‘right and wrongs’ were secondary to their “right”, because as British citizens
“we should come before “refugees and asylum seekers”

3.7 Discrimination and Diversity

The research explored discrimination in relation to the other work packages SEQUAL
researched.

Race and ethnicity

Issues of race and ethnicity, were strongly associated to topics of immigration, refugees
and asylum. ALICE and MARY both had negative opinions towards refugees and
asylum seekers, “they take all the good jobs and houses”. They were also seen as
“dirty”, “bad news”, “scroungers”, “can’t speak English” and both felt that “we should
stop them coming”. Their opinions were based predominantly on the (negative) media
coverage of immigration, as well as conversations with friends and family. Neither
ALICE nor MARY knew any refugees or asylum seekers well, although they knew of
young people at school who were refugees. In exploring their views, it was clear that
neither really understood, or importantly, were interested in obtaining more information
on, or a broader perspective of the issues.

JANE is now a British citizen but because of her own refugee experience felt
sympathetic to other refugees and asylum seekers. She felt that refugees and asylum
seekers were scapegoats and was upset and angry at the media for their inaccurate
portrayal. STEVE was more critical about structure and systems “immigration is out of
control”, rather than being against refugee and asylum seekers themselves, “most of the
refugees come from parts of the world where we have been to and ruined!”

Importantly neither ALICE nor JANE felt that they had ever been discriminated against
on the basis of their race or ethnicity (but definitely age!). JANE felt that she had faced
prejudice because of her refugee status and background and (through this) because of
her ethnicity also, which she saw as her ‘identity’ - being Kosovar.

Religious and political belief

In relation to religious and political belief none of the young people have any strong
religious affiliations. Negativity was raised by 3 individuals. ALICE, MARY and STEVE
correlated Islam/ terrorism/ refugees and immigrants. Islam was seen to be
discriminatory against women by limiting or not allowing choice (e.g. dress, marriage,
etc.). JANE and JOHN were concerned that im/migrants and BME individuals and
communities are being or will be targeted unfairly because of the ’war on terror’.

41
Sexual orientation
This did not prove to be such as emotive issue with the tracked young people (unlike
race and ethnicity). Young people today have grown up with these issues being openly
discussed, and cities such as London and Brighton have established, fashionable gay
communities, cultures and economies. Although for many ‘coming out’ is still difficult,
the introduction of legislation protecting employees from discrimination on the grounds
of their sexual orientation is a progressive step. All the young people tracked had no
prejudice against a person’s sexual orientation but believed that employers and work
colleagues were more likely to discriminate than young people. ALICE and MARY have
lesbian and gay friends. JOHN, although not for religious reasons, felt “uncomfortable
with the idea of same sex couples raising children”.

Disability
In relation to disability, both ALICE and MARY have close relatives who suffer from/with
a disability or long-term illness, (e.g. an elderly relative with autism and diabetes.
and a cousin who had a kidney transplant and is a wheelchair user). MARY, STEVE
and JOHN felt strongly that the environment was “very unfriendly” to disabled people,
making mobility awkward at best and impossible at worst. Public transport was
mentioned as being particularly bad. In terms of employment, disabled people were
thought to be the most discriminated group (out of the SEQUAL themes).
Misinformation existed and therefore ignorance. It was felt that employers would
“discriminate more than the bloke in the street” because they were seen to be reluctant
to invest (time, patience and money) on a disabled employee.

Some ‘trends’ have emerged. Discrimination based on disability was highlighted most
often and seen as most problematic in relation to ‘changing culture and attitudes’. In
relation to sexual orientation and disability, lesbian, gay and disabled youth were seen
to face more discrimination by employers and work colleagues than in wider society.

The researcher also explored the opinions of community youth group workers, NDYP
advisors and the youth ‘experts’.

Youth workers and NDYP advisors felt that the discrimination faced by young people
because of their age was “due to lack of experience”. This was manifested in “lower
wages, a lack of training and support”. There was some sympathy for SMEs (small and
medium sized enterprises), who were seen to have “less funds available to take on
apprentices”.

Young gay and lesbian youth were seen to be discriminated more by “other employees
rather than employers”. This was manifested by “language and media stereotyping”

In relation to BME youth, as with all of the SEQUAL themes, there was a general feeling
that there was discrimination based on negative stereotyping and ignorance. It was felt
that ‘culture’ had improved although institutional racism was felt to still exist.

As with the young people, youth workers and NDYP advisors felt that disabled youth
faced the most prejudice and discrimination, Disabled youth (indeed, people) are

42
wrongly stereotyped as “lacking qualifications and experience”. There was seen to be a
“lack of access, awareness and a lot of ignorance”, and that employers were “put off
because of cost implications”. The opinion was very much that a top-down cultural
change was required. Policy and structure had to “encourage training and awareness-
raising to promote a better understanding among employers”, while finding and
investment was needed to improve “working environment for disabled people”.

The youth ‘experts’ were an invaluable source of support, encouragement and

information throughout the research. Their responses very much echoed those of the
young people, youth workers and NDYP advisors. Additional comments included the
view that the NMW – although in principal a positive policy - did discriminate against
certain young people, namely those living independently (in hostels, etc), who find it
difficult to make ends meets. There was also a concern that the NMW was not being
regulated and that abuses and exploitation of young people was rife.

For lesbian and gay youth, there was a fear that “coming out at work can still mean
bullying or harassment by co-workers”. Again, as above, there was concern that
employers were not taking these issues seriously.

Again, disability was seen as a “a hidden theme. employers need educating…they are
put off by the cost of employing disabled workers”. There was a feeling that disability
was a large area, and therefore seen to be complicated. Some issues such as physical
disabilities and the area of ‘mental health’ remain ‘taboo’. One youth expert stated
simply that “disability will never be sexy”.

4 OTHER ISSUES
SEQUAL also looked at cross cutting issues (CCIs) which cut across all the primary
themes and work packages. These were Geographical isolation, Health, Language and
Citizenship and Participation. These issues are discussed below in relation to young
people.

4.1 Health
Mental health issues remain poorly understood and individuals inadequately supported
both in and outside the workplace,

"Employers tend to think that people with mental health problems would be a liability to
their firm, difficult to work with, and unable to cope with any workload. This is
unfortunately a view that is commonly held throughout society."
(The Mental Health Foundation, 2001)

The occurrence of mental health illness are increasing among young people, [T]he
prevalence of psychiatric disorders in 16-25 year olds has increased and disorders such
as depression, schizophrenia and eating disorders are likely to be in their most acute
phase during this stage of life, (Young Minds – mental health charity for young people,
online).

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Nearly half a million (one-in-10) teenagers across the UK self-harm, (a common pre-
cursor to suicide), by cutting, burning themselves, or taking an overdoses. Self-harm is
a way of coping with emotional problems and is on the increase, although this may be
due to an increase in reporting. One in five young people under 20 will experience
psychological problems ranging from anxiety and depression to psychotic and major
development disorders, (the Mental Health Foundation). Between 1996 and 2000,
2,236 young people under 25 committed suicide in England and Wales, (DoH, 2001).
Young men are now more than twice as likely to commit suicide as young women/ girls
and suicide is now the second highest cause of death for younger men, (Gomm, in
Helle et al., 1996).

Depression and suicide are closely linked to deprivation, poverty, drug and alcohol
abuse, (long-term) unemployment, and social class, (see Townsend, Whitehead and
Davidson, 1992, and Benzeval et al., 1995). What this means in relation to class and
young people, is that the ‘cycles of disadvantage and deprivation’ (which persist) are
passed on from generation to generation. Poverty and poverty alleviation therefore
remains key in breaking the ‘cycles of deprivation’ and associated risks and conditions
(depression, unemployment, low educational achievement). However, it should be
noted that other ‘classes’ and ‘cohort’ groups, usually seen as ‘the haves’ also suffer
from mental health conditions.

The individualisation (of responsibility) and the effects debt and money worries have led
to an increase of stress and anxiety among students. For example, there has been a
400% increase in (HE) student suicides, (Rebecca Sandles, Thursday, 8 August, 2002,
BBC.CO.UK). Recent research has highlighted the negative effect of stress academic
performance, with 20% of undergraduates becoming depressed by the end of their
second year, [T]here is a real danger that bright students will not achieve their potential
because of the financial burden of study and the mental health problems this can cause,
(Royal Holloway University, 2004). Anorexia nervosa is more common among well-
educated, middle class young women (Cohen and Hart, 1988).

What the statistics above illustrate is the distressing state of the young and future
workforce. In terms of employability, a lack of confidence, feelings of stress and
anxiety, isolation and exclusion can delay many young peoples’ ‘job readiness’ and
(re)entry into the labour market. In work, mental health conditions can result in poor
work performance, a lack of understanding, an inability to cope with the social aspects
of the work situation, problems communicating, being given demeaning jobs with little or
no prospects (and working beneath one’s ability), and stigma often leading to
discrimination and bullying. The focus on chronology on application forms discriminates
against those who suffer with mental health conditions as it is these individuals who
may have (short, long, single or repetitive) time off work. Many sufferers fear disclosing
their mental health problems to their employers and colleagues which means they have
to cope on their own and in silence, which only exacerbates their condition and prolongs
their recovery.

44
4.2 Geographical Isolation and Spatial Inequalities
One of the biggest challenges to policy continues to be engaging the interest of the low
achieving school leavers, (Table 2 on pg 12 shows GCSE/GNVQ Non-Achievements of
15 year old Boys & Girls). Statistics have shown that NDYP underachievement is
undeniably linked with location. Between 1998 and April 2001, an average of 36% of
the 640,000 starters continued into ‘sustained jobs’. During this period almost 33% of
the 144 local NDYP units had placement rates of above 40%, but in Birmingham and
five London Boroughs, fewer than 25% moved into ‘sustained jobs’. Research revealed
that the areas with the lowest placement success correlated with those areas of most
deprivation and high unemployment, (Glasgow, Newcastle, Teeside, Liverpool, Leeds,
Bradford, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and all but six London Boroughs),
(Unemployment Unit/ Youthaid, 2001b).

Location also plays an important part in relation to the level and quality of services
available in any given area. Spending on Youth Services in London varies
enormously. According to the Government, many of London's 32 youth services
spend up to 10 times more than others. Figures produced by the government
illustrate that some boroughs are spending more than £400 per 13-19-year-old,
compared to just £40 elsewhere, (www.ypnmagazine.com/). Since 2001, there have
been cuts in Youth Service funding in some Boroughs. For example, Islington is now
spending approximately £276 per head where it used to spend over £320. The
biggest-spending areas are the City of London and Kensington and Chelsea. The City
is an anomaly as so few people live there. Such incongruity and variance has led to
some questioning the reliability of the figures presented. In 2003/4 Camden Youth
Service spent £247.18 on every young person. It was followed closely by Islington,
Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea, (Ofsted, 2004). On average youth
services spent £91.65 on each young person in 2003/4, despite Government stating
that services should spend at least £100 per head, (DfES, 2002). Even so, in basic
terms these figures illustrate that that services are unequal and that postcode
discrimination exists,

the effectiveness of policies and programmes remain stubbornly dependent on local

economic and institutional conditions – as ‘successful’ programmes remain very difficult
to replicate in other locations, as tendentially-decentralising policy regimes exhibit
growing spatial unevenness, and as local labour market conditions continue to exert an
inordinate influence on programme outcomes, (Peck and Theodore, 2001, p.427).

Young people in rural communities can also suffer from exclusion and disadvantage.
For example there may be a lack of transport (public and private), which means that
access to employment and training is problematic. Also, if there is high unemployment
young people may be forced to leave home. Although some, indeed many young
people may want to leave, for some it is not a ‘choice’ but a necessity. Sadly, this
exodus only helps some rural communities to shrink further into obscurity. A lack of
services and social amenities in rural areas may lead young people to cause problems
and disturbances, and make them vulnerable to the same gang culture seen in urban
areas, (The Countryside Agency, Breaking Down Barriers: Achieving Social Inclusion
through Capacity Building, 2004).

45
Gypsy and travellers may suffer from discrimination and prejudice from settled
communities, and for the younger generation, exclusion and discrimination may be
exacerbated through inadequate educational provision. The lack of a permanent
address further marginalises and excludes this cultural community from the mainstream
labour market. Such prejudice and discrimination fails to recognise the skills, abilities,
experience and competencies that do exist within this community group, although
similar (reverse) discrimination also exists against settled communities. Post-code
discrimination is now a recognised practice. Areas (e.g., estates and neighbourhoods)
become labelled as ‘trouble spots’ and residents stereotyped as thieves and thus
inappropriate employees, (Baldrey in Working Brief 145). When postcode
discrimination occurs, application forms from these areas are weeded out immediately.

4.3 Language
Some of the terminology used in relation to young people and social exclusion, appear
to be at best reinforcing prejudice and negative stereotyping and at worst discriminatory.
The term ‘disadvantaged’ is inadequate as is the current ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ idea
and/or approach. As illustrated in this report, the pressures faced by many young
people are varied, and those young people who have traditionally been seen as ‘the
haves’ (e.g. HE students) also face difficulties such as debt, insecure financial futures
(the ‘pension crisis’), and mental health issues. Class plays an important part, for
example, drug (mis)use among the professional, middle and upper classes is
predominantly seen as ‘recreational’ and hence, less of a problem, social ill or crime.

[T]he current emphasis on the most socially excluded should be revised to consider the
varying circumstances and needs of all young people. The proverbial iceberg will be
overlooked if we focus only on the tip, (Connor, Dewson, Tyers, Eccles, Regan and
Aston, 2001, RR267, DfES).

Some criteria are simply outdated; in Britain today, 26% of children and young people
under the age of 19 live in a one-parent family, (a 50% increase in fifteen years). Is it
fair to label over a quarter of young people as ‘disadvantaged’ based on what is a
common criterion? Should not terminology and the measures on which they are based,
reflect the changing nature and profile of today’s society?

The young people who were tracked did not view themselves as ‘disadvantaged’
because of their race, refugee or single parent background, but rather felt that others
perceived them as such. For example, STEVE not only felt disadvantaged because of
the lack of support available to him, but also the stigma attached and negative views
associated with mental health held by others.

There are a number of related issues here;

• outdated terminology (‘single parent’)
• class bias and prejudice (drug abuse / recreational use; HE students as ‘the
haves’)
• stigmatisation and ‘scapegoating’ (mental health, ‘single parent’ and ‘Gypsy’ and
‘refugee’).

46
4.4 Citizenship and Participation
ALICE and MARY stated that they had no plans to vote in a General Election at 18,
“what’s the point, it won’t make a difference to my life”. Putting a class emphasis on
the issue of voting, MARY stated she had no interest in voting saying, “maybe if my
mum was a teacher and we’d talk about politics, I would have an interest”. JANE said
she would vote believing that “if you have the vote then you should use it”. Far from
being apathetic, the young people were very motivated and informed on issues that
were important to them personally and which they (felt they had) control over. For
ALICE and MARY the war in Iraq was becoming “old and boring news”, and, “I’m not
there, so I don’t care…war happens and people get killed every day”. JOHN was
interested in politics and current affairs and would vote “if I’m around”, as he goes
abroad at every opportunity to visit his girlfriend. His vote would go to the party that had
the “fairest social policies” (rather than gain personal benefit).

None of the individuals were involved in ‘traditional’ voluntary work or were particularly
interested in, or had time for it. None of them were involved in their ‘geographic’
communities.

This issue centres around the wider subject of social capital and social cohesion. The
OECD defines social capital as networks together with shared norms, values and
understandings that facilitate cooperation with or among groups, (Cote and Healy,
2001). The ONS has adopted this definition and has developed a social capital
measurement framework which includes five key dimensions, these are; social
participation, civic participation, social networks and support, reciprocity and trust, views
of local area, (Table 13, below). Each dimension has associated indicators.

Table 13: UK social capital measurement framework

Dimension Examples of indicators

Social participation 9 Number of cultural, leisure, social groups belonged to

Civic participation
and frequency and intensity of involvement
9 Volunteering, frequency and intensity of involvement
9 Religious activity
9
9 Perceptions of ability to influence events
9 How well informed about local/national affairs
9 Contact with public officials or political representatives
9 Involvement with local action groups
9 Propensity to vote

Social networks and social 9 Frequency of seeing/speaking to

support relatives/friends/neighbours
9 Extent of virtual networks. Frequency of contact
9 Number of close friends/relatives who live nearby
9 Exchange of help
9 Perceived control and satisfaction with life

Reciprocity and trust 9 Trust in other people who are like you
9 Trust in other people who are not like you
9 Confidence in institutions at different levels
47
 9 Doing favours and vice versa
9 Perception of shared values

Views of the local area 9 Views on physical environment

9 Facilities in the area
9 Enjoyment of living in the area
9 Fear of crime

(Whiting and Harper, 2003)

It has been acknowledged in recent research, (The Henley Centre, 2001 and Whiting
and Harper, 2003), that indicators used to measure young peoples’ relationships with
their communities and their political involvement and affiliations are inadequate and
irrelevant as they define a ‘community’ as a geographical area and fail to recognise that
for young people, communities are seen more in terms of interest and are based
around, school, town centre and street, friends and relatives houses and sometimes two
homes rather than an easily identifiable location, and that ‘trust’ and ‘reciprocity’ are
located in individual close relations rather than geographical communities, (Morrow,
2002, p.28). The decay of the church and established religion and an erosion of
respect for institutions as such only exacerbate the growing stress on individualism.
Young people have become more disconnected from traditional societal and community
anchors, and with life changing at such a hasty pace the experiences of parents and
grandparents are completely different, and as a result their advice is irrelevant.

Young people are seen to be apathetic and are less likely to vote, undertake formal
voluntary work and participate in social and civic activities, (see National Centre for
Social Research, 2000, Political interest and engagement among young people, JRF –
available online, and Kimberlee, 2002, Why Don’t British Young People Vote at General
Elections? Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 5, No.1). Young people are therefore seen
more as consumers than producers of social capital. This self-exclusion from traditional
activities and involvement in alternative politics is an illustration of the failure of
politicians to address the needs, interests and the ‘alternative values’ of young people.

Depending on sources, anywhere between 32% to 50% of under 25s did not vote in the
1997 general election while a study undertaken by MORI estimated that only 39% of 18-
24 year olds voted in the 2001 election, (Electoral Commission, 2001). This apathy is
based on a very narrow definition of politics and ignores the increase in membership of
so called ‘new social movements’ - based around green, human rights and animal
welfare. Membership of Amnesty International’s youth section has risen from 1,300 in
1988 to 15,000 in 2002. Greenpeace has seen its total membership rise from 80,000 in
1987 to 215,000 in 1998 - with the greatest increase in youth membership. Young
people are also more involved in activities not measured by current indicators. For
example, all of the 5 young people stated that they occasionally buy copies of the Big
Issue. Other possible activities include taking part in demonstrations and petitions,
recycling and helping or caring for a friend or neighbour,

48
“[W]e know that young people are doing many positive and productive things, from
giving up their time to teach asylum seekers literacy skills in Kent to creating school bus
anti-bullying schemes in Wales. Of course some young people commit crimes, but the
majority of them are law-abiding. The wall-to-wall coverage of teenage gangs and
violent criminals risks stigmatising a whole generation, leading to catch-all policies
which discriminate against the vast majority of young people who are just getting on
with growing up”, (Steve Barrett, editor of Young People Now magazine, Young People
Now www.ypnmagazine.com).

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The young people tracked during this research showed belief and clear ambition in
terms of achieving their career goals. They are well informed in some aspects and are
pragmatic and resilient, recognising that the labour market is very competitive yet
remain positive about their own abilities.

‘Youth’ (as a cultural generation) is shaped by policies, priorities, developments and

events. As such many stakeholders are responsible for the young person’s ‘lot’,
including parents, peers, schools, projects and programmes, the media, policy makers
and employers. Responsibility of achievement and failure is therefore shared amongst
some, if not all of these stakeholders at one time or another.

Some issues – not specific to young people - are mentioned at the beginning of this
report (Executive Summary), other issues have been addressed in the latter sections of
Part 2, namely the financial burdens faced by many young people, (e.g. student loans,
high house prices and the pension crisis), living with the ‘burden of opportunity’ where
expectations are high and the delay of achieving ‘life statuses’ (e.g. buying a home and
starting a family). Further issues have been highlighted in Part 4 (Health; Geographical
Isolation and Spatial Inequalities, Language and Citizenship and Participation).

What have clearly emerged are two related issues which can negatively impact on
young people; affecting their choices - or lack of them –
• structural, policy-based obstacles
• negative stereotyping and prejudice

Below are a summary of the key issues and recommendations which have emerged
during this research

• addressing ‘work’ and ‘life’ skills issues: schools are an ideal area to reach ALL
young people (programmes/ projects do not). Although the burden should not
entirely rest on them (see ‘Employers’, below), they appear to be the best placed
to provide information on life skills (such as money management, pensions) and
work skills issues (team working, responsibility, communication and interpersonal
skills)
Recommendation – Policy makers should incorporate these issues into the
citizenship curriculum and projects could provide one-off workshops

49
• making hard to recruit sectors ‘sexy’ and more availability of and money for
vocational courses and apprenticeships: There is a need to promote hard to
recruit sectors and make them ‘sexy’, (e.g. nursing, and teaching). Also there
needs to be better organisation and availability of, and funding for vocational
courses and apprenticeships: (e.g. plumbing and construction). Current demand
for vocational courses and especially apprenticeships outweighs supply. Better
wages and financial support would also raise completion rates
Recommendation - Policy makers and employers must raise the profile of jobs
currently seen as unattractive. Vocational routes and qualifications must be sold,
not only to young people but to employers. One way is to provide more and well
paid apprenticeships and raise wages in the public sector, (‘fair pay for fair work’).
Many young people are finding it hard to financially balance being independent with
a Modern Apprenticeship (MA)

• the 16-18 structural gap - the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the NDYP:
Policy assumes and indeed promotes the idea(l) that at 16 young people remain
at home and follow an FE pathway. It fails to support those who, either by choice
or need, pursue an independent lifestyle, (e.g. those leaving care, are homeless
and who follow vocational routes). The low rate of the NMW for those aged 16,
limited social benefit support, and labour market policies which begin to support
individuals at the age of 18 result in the further exclusion and marginalisation of
those young people who require support the most
Recommendation - Policy makers must recognise, accept and support those aged
16 who do not follow traditional routes (i.e. remain with parents and enter FE)

• more employer involvement: school visits/ talks by real professionals outlining ‘a

typical day’, describing what qualifications are required. Young people should be
told – by real professionals - about the plethora of jobs available to them
Recommendation - Policy makers must engage employer involvement. This could
be achieved by members of professional bodies developing links with local schools.
This can be made an integral part of a company’s or professional body’s Corporate
Social Responsibility Strategy

• Improve work experience placements: in order to improve ‘employability’, longer

and more structured placements are necessary. Some placements are
inadequate and are not taken seriously by either the young person or the
employer. Young people are more often than not given menial tasks to do.
Recommendation - Work experience placements should be better planned with
targets set, responsibilities and duties clearly stated. Also longer placements allow
employers to ‘invest’ more effort in the young person, giving them long-term tasks
and responsibility.

• recruitment, training and development: Employers must adopt age-blind practices

and recruit employees using the criteria of competency rather than chronology.
Also they must invest more in staff in order to improve retention rates, improve
employee skills and business productivity. More young people are in
employment and get no training than are ‘Not in Education, Employment or
Training’ (NEET). The business case must be promoted in order to develop and
retain skilled workforce responsive to labour market needs
Recommendation – Legislation should make it illegal for employers to ask an
applicant their age or date of birth. Policy makers must promote the ‘business case’
50
 in training staff as research shows young people will leave if they are not invested in.
Training and staff development are also equal opportunities issues. Legislation must
ensure that employers are offering training to staff

• better communication: there are ‘cultural’ differences between generations: their

aims, objectives, opinions and experience
Recommendation - Employers should encourage communication between
colleagues, e.g. mixed-age project teams and such as cross-generational mentoring

• health: more attention and funding needs to be given to mental health issues and
services. What the research has shown is that this is an issue affecting all young
people, not merely the traditionally ‘excluded’ or ‘disadvantaged’. Also health
issues must not be seen merely as a ‘phase’ which the young person will ‘grow
out of’, (e.g. depression, eating disorders and self-harm)
Recommendation - More funding for service provision. Better ‘sign-posting’
between services so young people do not ‘fall through the net’.

• recognising YP involvement in non-traditional activities: young peoples’

contributions are not being captured and go unrecognised by current
measurements. Young people are increasingly attached to ‘communities of
interest’ rather than geographic ones and are more involved in new social
movements
Recommendation - policy makers must adjust ‘social capital’ measures and
indicators currently used, in order to capture the contributions young people actually
do make to their communities. During the research, the issue of ‘being valued’ was
very important to young people. They felt that their contributions and abilities were
not appreciated or taken seriously

• use of language and stereotyping: some terminology is outdated and only

stigmatises and scapegoats individuals, (such as having a ‘‘single parent
background’ and being a refugee). Their use can only reinforce negative
stereotyping, exclusion and disadvantage. Also, the common view that ‘the
haves’ are HE students and those from the middle classes, ignores the financial
(and health) burdens they experience
Recommendation - Policy makers should re-think certain measures and/or criteria used to
classify ‘disadvantage’, ensuring, policy reflects (a changing) society

51
Annex 1 - Generic Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE

SEQUAL Development Partnership - YOUNG ADULTS (16 - 25)

Your name _________________________________

Average length of time a young person spends on your

Project/Programme____________________
(months / years – PLEASE SPECIFY)

PART 1 - EMPLOYABILITY

(a) In your professional opinion, how decided are young people in relation to
employment and career planning?

X COMMENTS
Clear
Unsure but have some idea/s
No idea

(b) What are the main reasons for a young person’s choice of career ?

X COMMENTS
Financial
Genuine interest
Opportunity to travel
Fast career progression
Good benefits / perks
Family pressure/ influence
Peer pressure/influence

(c) Do you agree ?

yes no COMMENTS
young people have a good,
well informed knowledge of
the labour market (needs and
trends)

52
(d) How important are the following ‘attributes’ for young people in terms of
‘employability’?

Please rank ALL

1=not at all 2=a little 3=very 4=vital

ATTRIBUTES FOR IN YOUR FOR

YOUNG PEOPLE EXPERIENCE EMPLOYERS
(IN GENERAL)
Qualifications
Work experience
Flexible/ adaptable
Solving problems
Independent
Communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Having values
Open-mindedness
Confidence and self
esteem
Motivation
Quick thinker
(under pressure)
Risk taker
Reflection
Patience
Humour
Resourcefulness
Persistence
Resilience
Being responsible- self
Being responsible-others
Appearance
Team-player

(some attributes taken from NIACE/NYA Young Adult Learners Partnership (YALP)
Forum)

53
 PART 2 – ABOUT YOUR PROJECT/ PROGRAMME
IMPACT (“Empowerment Indicators”)

In your experience, what has been the level of impact of your project on young people ?

1 2 3 4
not at all a little a lot significant

INDICATOR COMMENTS

Confidence /
Self esteem
Knowledge

Skills/skills
development
Supportive
relationships
Resources for
help/
information
Control of
choices
Values

Networking/
communication
- contact with
employers
Training/
qualifications
Responsibility

Understanding
of others
Flexibility

Advice and
guidance

54
PART 3 - SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

(a) How important SHOULD/ARE these ‘spheres of influence’?

1 2 3
not at all a little very

SPHERE OF
INFLUENCE Does influence Should influence
School

Parents/Guardians

Peers

Employers

Projects and
programmes
COMMENTS

55
PART 4 – DISCRIMINATION

(a) How far do you agree with the following statements ?

1 2 3 4
strongly disagree disagree agree strongly agree

Statements in the in how is the discrimination manifested and/ or

labour society why does it occur ?
marke in
t general
Young people are
discriminated
against
Lesbian and Gay
youth are
discriminated
against
Disabled youth are
discriminated
against
BEM youth are
discriminated
against

Please add any COMMENTS on discrimination

Would you be prepared to meet with me to discuss your responses and these and other
issues further?

YES NO
If YES, please leave a contact Tel. No. and/ or e-mail address

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would it be possible to meet with some of your clients – young people – to discuss
these issues further?
YES NO

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM

56
Annex 2 - Young People and the Media: The Facts

• One in three articles about young people are about crime (Young People and the
Media, Mori). 26 per cent of young people in school admit to committing a crime
but only seven per cent of that group have committed crimes leading to police
involvement (Mori/ YJB)

• 71 per cent of press stories about young people are negative and only 14 per
cent are positive (Young People and the Media, Mori)

• Young people are only quoted in eight per cent of stories about them (Young
People and the Media, Mori)

• Two-thirds of 11-18 year olds would not trust a journalist to tell them the truth
(Mori/ Nestle Family Monitor 2003)

• Young people see the press as finger-wagging and authoritarian, telling them
what they “should and shouldn’t be doing” They also see journalists as prone to
exaggeration. “They’ll get anything to put in there if they’re short of something to
write. They don’t care if it hurts someone’s reputation.” said one young person

• 90 per cent of youth workers believe that tabloid newspapers give a negative
impression or very negative impression of young people. 69.2 per cent believe
local papers are negative or very negative, and 61.5 per cent think broadsheets
are negative or very negative. (Young People Now reader survey 2004)

• 93 per cent of youth workers believe that youth groups should be more proactive
in promoting positive stories about young people, while 41 per cent say that
young people should be taught media literacy and campaigning. (Young People
Now reader survey 2004)

• Young people were referred to as thugs 26 times and yobs 21 times in a survey
of 74 tabloid and broadsheet articles about young people and crime. Other
descriptors included evil, lout, monsters, brutes, scum, menace, heartless, sick,
menacing and inhuman. (Shape the Debate campaign, 2002 - 2003)

Source: Young People Now magazine, (www.ypnmagazine.com).

57
Annex 3 - Media Good Practice Case Studies

Children’s Express
Children’s Express is a news agency where young people produce news and features
for the mainstream media. It is facilitated by adult journalists and youth workers.

“The young people here want to challenge some of the stereotypes that adults have
about them,” says Paula Yeoman, outreach journalist. “We do quite a lot on youth
crime, and also issues like healthy eating and general safety, and we look at it from a
young person’s perspective.”

Sonti Ramirez, 13, works at Children’s Express producing documentaries. She recently
spent a week filming two young people’s theatre groups to see how they worked
together and overcame barriers. The film is due to be shown in cinemas as part of the
International Festival of Theatre. She says it’s important to show images of young
people getting on, rather than being violent.

“I don’t think the media talk about young people as much as they should,” she says,
“and when they do it’s usually to portray them as offenders.”

Citizen Y
Michael Cooper is campaign co-ordinator for Citizen Y in Edinburgh, an organisation
dedicated to improving the image of the city’s young people.

“When other groups such as asylum seekers are portrayed badly, there is an
organisation to stand up for them,” he says. “But there’s not really such a group for
young people, so it’s important to challenge the negative images.”

Citizen Y does that by staging public events, such as plays and demonstrations. In 2003
it put on a play at the Edinburgh Festival (“Who are you calling a ned?”) which was well-
received in the local media, including Newsnight Scotland and the Evening News
newspaper. Antisocial behaviour was being debated a lot at the time, which made the
play particularly topical.

In fact, Cooper says that was exactly why it was important to stage the play. “The
negative image that often appears in the media now seems to be influencing policy and
legislation,” he says. “The recent Anti Social Behaviour Bill in Scotland is an example of
a reaction to the negative stereotype of young people with very punitive rather than
supportive measures.”

Karen Sutherland, 17, played a news reporter in the play. “I get quite annoyed at how
young people are reported in the media,” she says. “When you watch TV you find we
are not really talked about as people, we are things. Reporters make comparisons
between the good, decent people in society and then there are young people.”

Karen points out that when Scotland’s anti-social behaviour bill was being reported, it
was usually accompanied by stories of young people behaving badly. “But the bill isn’t
just about young people,” she says. “During Edinburgh Festival there are a lot of adults
behaving anti-socially.”

58
The Warrington Guardian
The Warrington Guardian has run a youth page in its weekly newspaper since 1997.
“The young people came to us originally,” explains Gareth Dunning, news editor. “The
page is done in partnership with the local council and youth workers. They really run it
but we try to give guidance especially with writing and picture sourcing and maybe
coming up with some of the ideas. They come up with their own issues and it can be
anything that they think is relevant, we recently had something on school lunches, and
smoking."

The youth workers and young people come to the Warrington Guardian’s offices on a
Thursday evening. “They’ll already have come up with their ideas, and they work on it
together here, a bit like in a youth club,” explains Dunning. “Then I go in for about 10 or
15 minutes at the end to see what they’ve done and then it all goes through the usual
laying out and sub-editing processes.”

Source: Young People Now Magazine, (www.ypnmagazine.com)

59
Annex 4 - Government Policy Initiatives

Children and Young People’s Unit (2000) Children and Young People’s Unit
Supports cross-government work on child poverty and youth disadvantage and
implements and manages the Children's Fund (below).
www.cypu.gov.uk
Children’s Fund (2000) Children and Young People’s Unit
Targets 5-13 year olds - at risk of social exclusion by funding services, which prevent
children and families suffering the consequences of poverty.
http//www.cypu.gov.uk/corporate/childrensfund/index.cfm
Citizenship Education (2002) Department for Education and Skills
This became a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in September 2002. The
main purpose is to teach young people about their rights and responsibilities in a
democratic society and to encourage them to participate in their local community.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/citizenship
Community Champions (2002) Department for Education and Skills
Set up by the DfES to support the work of local people who want to improve their
communities. It gives small grants to individuals to run community projects.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/communitychampions/
The Community Fund (1995) Independent Organisation
Distributes lottery money with the aim of improving the quality of life in disadvantaged
areas.
http://www.community-fund.org.uk
Communities that Care (1998) Joseph Rowntree Foundation - Charity
A preventative programme designed to tackle the problems young people in
disadvantaged areas face, through local organisations.
http://www.communitiesthatcare.org.uk
Local Network Fund (2000) Children and Young People’s Unit
Offers grants to voluntary organisations, which work with young people aged 0-19.
http://www.cypu.gov.uk/corporate/Inf/index.cfm
Millennium Volunteers (1999) Department for Education and Skills
Designed to get young people aged 16-24 involved in their local communities through
voluntary projects.
http://millenniumvolunteers.gov.uk
The National Youth Agency (1992) Funded by the DfES and the LGA
Works at all levels to improve and extend youth services and youth work, to increase
youth participation in society, and to promote effective youth policy and provision + the
youth information web site.
www.nya.org.uk and www.youthinformation.com.
New Deal for Communities (2001) Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister
Aims to tackle multiple deprivation in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in
England, by providing resources to communities so they tackle their problems
themselves.
http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk
New Deal for Young People (1998) Department for Work and Pensions
Part of the governments ‘Welfare to Work Strategy’, helps young people (aged 18-24
years & 25+).
http://www.thesite.org.uk/newdeal
On Track Programme (1999) Home Office and Children and Young Peoples Unit
A long-term crime reduction programme aimed at 4-12 year olds in England. It has the
responsibility of developing preventative services for children at risk of getting involved
60
in crime.
http://www.cypu.gov.uk/corporate/childrensfund/ontrack.cfm

61
Annex 5 - Youth organisations

Boys’ and Girls’ Welfare Society

Supports disabled young people and promotes their education and development
www.bgws.org.uk
Brathay
Brathay use experiences in order to help a young person develop themselves,
through nurturing a positive sense of the ‘self’ and a respect for others.
http://www.brathay.org.uk
British Youth Council - Independent charity
Run for and by young people, representing their views to central and local
government, political parties, pressure groups and the media
www.byc.org.uk
Business Dynamics
Aims to bring business to life for students and to help their personal development
by giving them the chance to develop life skills outside their normal curriculum
www.businessdynamics.org.uk
Carnegie Young People Initiative
Promotes the involvement of young people aged 10-25 in the key decisions that
affect them. An independent think-tank, funded primarily by the Carnegie UK
Trust, created to push forward policy and practice across the UK and Ireland.
www.carnegie-youth.org.uk
Centrepoint - National charity
For homeless and socially excluded young people
www.centrepoint.org.uk
Community Education Development Centre - Charity
A promoting education and lifelong learning, health improvement and economic
and community regeneration.
www.cedc.org.uk
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Charity
Support the social and personal development of young people aged 14-25
through a programme of practical and cultural activities.
http://www.theaward.org
Fairbridge
Offers young people long-term personal support and challenging activities in 13
of the most disadvantaged areas in the UK.
www.fairbridge.org.uk
National Association of Clubs for Young People
Supports 3,000 clubs around the UK.
www.nacyp.org.uk
National Association of Youth Justice
Promote the rights of, and justice for, children.
www.nayj.org.uk
National Children’s Bureau
Promotes the interests and well being of all children and young people across
every aspect of their lives
www.ncb.org.uk

National Council for Voluntary Youth Services

A network of over 150 national voluntary youth organisations and regional and
62
local youth networks
www.ncvys.org.uk
National Mentoring Network
Promote the development of mentoring with advice and support to those wishing
to set up or develop mentoring programmes. Provides a forum for the exchange
of information and good practice.
www.nmn.org.uk
NCH - Charity
Works with vulnerable children, young people and their families to ensure they
reach their full potential.
www.nch.org.uk
The Prince’s Trust - Charity
Offers support and basic financial assistance to disadvantaged young people
aged 14-30 years. There are 4 core programmes.
http://www.princes-trust.org.uk
Trust for the Study of Adolescence
TSA believes there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about adolescence
and young adulthood. Attempts to close this gap through research, training,
publications and influencing policy makers and public opinion.
www.tsa.uk.com
UK Youth - Charity
The largest nationally registered youth work charity in the UK, supports and
develops work and educational opportunities for all young people
www.ukyouth.org
UK Youth Parliament – Independent national charity (Government core funded)
The UK Youth Parliament is a national body of democratically elected young
people aged from 11 to 18. It ensures that the young people of the UK are given
a voice on any issue which affects them as a young person.
www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk
Votes at 16 Campaign
A campaign targeted at Government to lower the public election voting age to 16.
Believes that the most effective case for change is to be made by young people
themselves. Young people-led organisations are at the heart of the campaign.
www.votesat16.org.uk
Weston Spirit –National charity
Tackles issues of social exclusion through personal development programmes
and projects.
www.westonspirit.org.uk
Whizz-Kidz – National charity
Seeks to improve the quality of life and mobility opportunities of disabled children
and young people.
www.whizz-kidz.org.uk
Youth Action Network
A national organisation for youth volunteering, enabling thousands of young
people to become active in their own time, meet other young people, gain skills,
and put into practice their ideas for the benefit of their communities
www.youth-action.org.uk
Young Enterprise - National education charity
Aims to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.
www.young-enterprise.org.uk
Youth Hostels Association
Part of the International Youth Hostel Federation. Aims to help all, especially
63
those of a limited means, to a greater understanding of the countryside and
cities. Promote health, rest and education.
www.yha.org.uk
YoungMinds – National charity
Committed to improving the mental health of all children and young people.
www.youngminds.org.uk
Youth at Risk
Aims to advance the social education of young people who are deemed to be at
risk from abuse, substance misuse, criminal activity, poverty, homelessness,
unemployment, or illiteracy.
www.youthatrisk.org.uk

SCOTLAND

Girvan Youth Trust

A voluntary organisation based in the south west of Scotland, providing
opportunities for young people in a social and educational dimension.
www.girvanyouthtrust.co.uk.
YouthLink Scotland
The national youth agency for Scotland
www.youthlink.co.uk

WALES

Wales Youth Agency

A non-departmental public body set up to support the development of services to
young people in Wales.
www.wya.org.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND

Youth Council for Northern Ireland

The national body supporting work with children and young people in Northern
Ireland
www.youthcouncil-ni.org.uk

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Annex 6 - 14-19 Pathfinders – Good Practice examples

Fit for Employment Construction and Education Partnership in Durham

In 2003, Anne Lakey, Headteacher of Deerness Valley School, and Phil Young,
Director of Technical Services at The Esh Group, a construction company, began
working together to develop a work-related training programme called ‘Fit for
Employment’. Deerness Valley School saw the construction company as the ideal
partner to help develop an innovative, collaborative model for 14-19 vocational
provision that would meet the needs of all young people. The partnership has since
been extended to include a special school, Durham Trinity, an FE provider, New
College Durham, and three more County Durham secondary schools.

Professional Sports and Education Partnership in Nottingham

The City of Nottingham 14-19 Pathfinder has developed a Sport and Education
Partnership to address the needs of the sport-related industry, and identify how the
professional sports clubs can best support local schools in delivering an ‘alternative
curriculum’. The aim of the Partnership is to raise awareness of the wide range of
occupational areas connected with the sports industry.

Individual Learner Pathways in Wolverhampton

The Wolverhampton 14-19 Pathfinder seeks to bring the local learning community
together. Its distinctive features are the City-wide Curriculum Framework, and the
creation of personalised learning opportunities and progression routes. At post-16,
this means a City-wide curriculum offer which is open to students from any
institution.

Personal Digital Assistant Project at Thomas Adams School, Shropshire

As part of Shropshire’s 14-19 Pathfinder, Thomas Adams School has been testing a
range of strategies to improve the motivation and achievement of Key Stage 4 pupils.
One of these has been to use ‘mobile computing’ to help improve pupils’ organisational
skills. Since January 2004, Personal Digital Assistants have been allocated to the
school for use by pupils and staff working on the project.

Pre-apprenticeship Programme for the Motor Industry, Nottingham

Over the last five years, there has been a steady decrease in the number of post-16
students undertaking motor vehicle training within the Nottingham area. This is despite
the fact that EMTEC, the United Kingdom’s largest motor vehicle manufacturer and
training organisation, is located nearby. To address this issue, the City of Nottingham
14-19 Pathfinder came up with a collaborative approach to engage students earlier
between the ages of 14 and 16.
Source DfES, (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/14-19/dsp_1419_goodpractice.cfm?sid=9)

65
Annex 7

66
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71
 People aged 50 and above in the Glasgow area

Executive summary
Introduction
The age fifty often marks a turning-point in labour market fortunes. Glasgow presents an
extreme example of a city with a large proportion of people aged 50 and above who are
out of the labour market for a variety of reasons. At the same time, there is a serious
skills shortage in the city. The city is to an large extent polarised between with no
qualifications and those with high qualifications and this is reflected in the 50+ age
group.

Aims
To discover the main reasons for the situation in Glasgow;
To examine the role of structure and agency in labour market retention and exit;
To suggest ways of retaining older workers in employment.

Methods
A statistical survey of the situation of older people of labour market age in Glasgow;
An analysis of life history interviews with older people, with a view to discovering
personal reasons for either leaving the labour market before state retirement age or
staying on;
A summary and analysis of existing literature which surveys working conditions for older
people and suggests why people leave and what might persuade them to stay in
employment.

Key findings
Older people are by no means a homogeneous group. They differ by sex, ethnicity,
nationality, language, sexual orientation, health and disability, educational level, social
class, geographical location etc. - in other words, the specific social characteristics
which define the population as a whole.
Over half both men and women in the fifty-retirement age group are economically
inactive but many are not so by choice and the result is often poverty. Reasons for
enforced exit include redundancy; ill-health and the benefit trap created by low earning
potential:
• Older people, especially women, are less likely to have qualifications; but it is
men who have most suffered from the effects of structural chance and
redundancy and are more likely to be unemployed;

72
 • Only a minority of older people are officially unemployed, although of those who
are there is a high rate of long-term unemployment; and many withdraw from the
labour market or are deemed incapacitated rather than remain on the job
register;
• Older people are more likely to become sick or disabled and this is an important
reason for early labour market exit, particularly in the case of manual workers;
• On average, pay declines with age, rather than older workers becoming more
expensive; for lower-skilled workers in particular, the gap between social benefits
and wages narrows in later age, thus reducing the incentive to carry on in
employment.

There is evidence of age discrimination both against the unemployed and the employed,
and older people are less likely to be offered training by employers. Older people are,
however, capable of carrying on learning.
Some inactive older people, on the other hand, leave the labour market early by choice,
principally when they can afford to do so either because of a private pension or a
partner's earnings.
There is a complex relationship between qualifications and age of retirement: having
qualifications makes continuing productively and enjoyably in paid work more likely
while at the same time making early retirement financially possible.
Health and disability problems are not necessarily a bar to continuing in employment, as
long as the type of work undertaken is suitable and the employing organisation is
flexible in its approach.
There are therefore issues in the retention of older workers still in employment as well
as drawing people back into the labour market.

Recommendations to policy-makers, Job Centres, other employment

services and vocational guidance services
Age is only one social characteristic and should not be treated as the defining one in
terms of employment. Older people should not be deemed less worthy than younger
people of assistance back into employment after redundancy: their rights to work and
their capabilities should be respected.

Older people should be treated as individuals with a complex of social characteristics,

and interventions by vocational guidance or employment services should be holistic and
person-centred.

Those who are unemployed and have insufficient skills to fill existing vacancies should
be given appropriate re-training, including work placements, and not given training
which does not lead to a job and discourages them from continuing their attempts to find
work.

Job Rotation schemes for older people, such as the one currently running in Glasgow,
should be more widely adopted.

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Employment rights should not end at the age of 65 or any other arbitrary age.
Assistance with career change and development for employed people should not end
on the assumption that no career is possible after entering the fifty to retirement age
group.

Recommendations to employers
Employability does not decline with age
and older people should not be seen as less valuable than younger people.

The serious skills shortages in the United Kingdom can partly be addressed through
widening recruitment to include older workers and encouraging existing employees to
stay on. This applies to firms of all sizes.

Employers with skills shortages should also consider offering work placements to older
trainees in collaboration with training providers, Job Centres and vocational guidance
services.

The Employers' Forum on Age has many examples of the value added to an
organisation by the employment and retention of older workers.

Employees who are unable to continue in their current jobs for health reasons should be
offered the opportunity to retrain for more suitable jobs and Access to Work funding
should be sought where necessary.

Flexible working patterns can tempt some older workers to remain in employment while
pursuing more leisure or caring responsibilities.

Current retirement ages set by many employing organisations are arbitrary and do not
reflect capacity or willingness to work; and fixed retirement ages should be abolished as
they are a waste of often-scarce skills. As long as people are performing effectively,
they should be encouraged to stay on.

Introduction: employability and discrimination

The philosophy of employability

'Employability' is NOT informed by
the marxist philosophy of 'to each according to his(/her) need, from each
according to his(/her) ability'
or by
the social democratic philosophy that everyone has a right to gainful employment
and that full employment is desirable.

74
Rather, it comes from the liberal idea, based on the ethos of self-help, self-
determination and responsibility, that, in general, there is a level playing field and it is
the responsibility of the individual to make him/herself fit for gainful employment. There
is a role for the state (as Adam Smith stated) in providing a safety net for the minority
who need it and basic education and health for all. The latter are essential for economic
development and employers need an educated healthy workforce. The state is
expected to provide people fit to become workers but beyond that to intervene as little
as possible.

The notion of the ‘employable’ worker

The concept of ‘employability’ is employer-led, specifically by private sector employer

organisations such as the CBI, but it has been taken up as a key concept and policy
area, first by the British government and subsequently by the European Commission. In
classical economic theory, the raison d’être of profit-making organisations (and
increasingly by public-sector organisations under pressure from tax-cutting and
expenditure-reducing governments) is to minimise costs. Since the majority of these are
staff costs (including training budgets), they prefer new employees to be ‘job-ready’ -
that is, provided via the state and university education sectors with:

• basic skills, including literacy and numeracy;

• transferable skills, including communication, customer handling, teamwork, problem-
solving, learning to learn and, increasingly, ICT skills;
• and a reasonable level of occupation-specific skills, involving specialised knowledge
and abilities.
Also desirable are personal attributes including motivation and disciplined attitudes
towards work, learnt and demonstrated principally through prior employment.
All employers then need to do is to give training in highly specialised skills and in
changing technologies and new skill needs. Furthermore, in areas of skills shortage,
‘poaching’ workers from similar firms is a common way of finding qualified recruits. The
most employable workers, then, are those who already have jobs and the required
skills, particularly in areas of skills shortage, and who can show evidence of having
taken responsibility for their own learning1 - and who are thought to be capable of
further learning.

Since the truly ‘employable’ worker has, among many other talents, ‘learnt how to learn’
in a self-directed way, a minimum need be spent on workforce development. It is also
important to remember that SMEs make up the great majority of businesses in any
European country, and without some form of training subsidy or co-operative training

1 Anecdotal evidence from Open University students and from a survey, Personal, Social and Vocational
Outcomes of Learning in the West of Scotland, carried out by the author and published in a series of
articles, suggests that at least some employers are impressed by adults who undertake learning on their
own account and either hire or promote such a learner. See, for example, P. Clayton and M. Slowey,
‘Toward the ‘flexible’ workforce? Implications for gender and the education and training of adults’, Scottish
Journal of Adult and Continuing Education 1996 and ‘Was it worth it? A comparison of the role of adult
education and training in the labour market insertion and progress of men and women in the West of
Scotland: results of qualitative research’, International Journal of Lifelong Learning 2000.
75
arrangement it can be difficult for firms to carry out adequate and good-quality training.
There are, however, small firms who do this, particular in high-technology industries2.

Discrimination: the business case?

The classical idea that businesses invariably aim to maximise profit is, in fact,
compromised in a variety of ways. For example, some appear - to shareholders in
particular but also to governments - to seek profit for directors at the expense of the
company and its shareholders ; small business owners, on the other hand, may seek
autonomy rather than profit maximisation. Greed and independence, then, may be
greater values than profit. Nevertheless, profitability, competitiveness and productivity
are still the bottom line in many cases and are, indeed, necessary for survival in the
private sector.

Given the official line on ‘employability’ - that is, that anyone is employable who has all
the skills summarised in the previous section - one might not expect it to co-exist with
discrimination. Age should be irrelevant provided the person can do the job …
especially in a context of near ‘full employment’ (traditionally about two per cent residual
unemployment, consisting of people in transition between jobs and the ‘unemployable’,
that is, people who either do not wish to work or have great difficulties which prevent
them from working) where recruitment poses difficulties for firms in some sectors. So it
is necessary to discover why negative discrimination nevertheless exists.
There are, arguably, three (at least) factors behind discrimination; prejudice;
stereotyped perceptions; and cost (real and perceived). These overlap but I have tried
to give examples for each:

1. Prejudice: this includes the idea that people’s value is based on their current age.
This idea gives rise to ageism. Hence young people (but not too young) are of more
value than old ones ; teenagers are feckless and probably criminal or addicts.
2. Stereotyped perceptions of risk: for example, that older workers can’t learn new
things and aren’t worth training or hiring; that young people will be undisciplined and
lazy. In other words, some groups pose more risks than others. We should note that
there is often some truth in stereotypes, but that these truths are generally the result
of self-fulfilling prophecies and misinterpretation (Allport 1979).
3. Cost: since health declines with age, older workers could be more expensive than
younger ones in terms of sick leave (though this is not proven). For large firms, there
is also the fact that recruitment costs can be very high, so a mistake in recruitment
can be expensive - better go for the safe option than test new waters, such as a
young person without prior work experience.

Hence, the liberal ideology of equal worth and value is rather like Athenian democracy -
limited to a small section of the population. Outside a particular group (stereotypically,
young -but not too young; male - though only in high-status occupations; white;
educated - except for the ‘over-qualified’; and middle class), it is not enough that

2 Much of this section is based on a research report by the author, Tremplin, Skills Mismatches and the
Role of VET: The United Kingdom National Report, available at
http://www.gla.ac.uk/tremplin/BritishReport_en.pdf
76
individuals are ‘employable’ - they (or advocates on their behalf) have to prove it with
much greater effort than is equitable.

Discrimination: the cost

The above does not apply to all employers. Some make positive efforts towards a
‘diverse’ workforce and/or spend considerable resources on training and developing
their employees. Others see that there is a good business case for hiring formerly
‘unwanted’ groups. One such group is that of older people (who can be as young as 45
or even 35 in some industries); another is very young people, especially if they have no
previous employment.

According to the Employers’ Forum on Age, there is a good business case for
challenging age stereotypes and assumptions, excluding prejudice from employment
decisions, viewing people of different age groups and backgrounds as potential
employees and recruiting and promoting solely on merit and potential. Age diversity
brings commercial benefits by helping to create a ‘skilled and motivated workforce’
which meets the needs of an age-diverse customer base; by becoming ‘an employer of
choice in an increasingly competitive labour market’; and by building ‘its reputation as
an ethical and intelligent employer … (which) has been shown to impact favourably on
stock-market performance’ (http://www.efa-agediversity.org.uk/what-is.htm). Thus
‘the business case for age diversity is founded on plain common sense. It can
help companies adapt successfully to new markets, and keep them aligned with
evolving legislation and social trends. Age diversity also counters the threat from
a shrinking, ageing workforce, which combines with prejudice to create the kind
of skills vacuums seen in this photograph’ (http://www.efa-agediversity.org.uk).

One example is B&Q, which staffed one entire store with older workers and found it was
the most profitable in the country. They now have a policy of seeking to recruit older
workers. Another is the Nationwide Building Society, which abolished the compulsory
retirement age and is very satisfied with the results3.

Conclusion: the relationship between employability and

discrimination
Despite claims that individuals must be ‘employable’, some individuals are ‘more equal
than others’ and many employers are averse to the risk of hiring people from certain
sections of the population, through prejudice, stereotyping or fear of risk, especially to
profit, competitiveness and productivity. The sub-text to ‘employable’ is ‘normal’ in
addition to the other attributes of ‘employability’ such as the possession of a range of
skills. In the light of legislation, some already enacted and other forthcoming, intended
to combat discrimination in employment, employers will be legally obliged to eliminate

3 For other examples, see http://www.efa.org.uk, the Employers’ Forum on Age. Core members are
Barclays Bank, BBC, BT, B&Q, Cabinet Office, Centrica, CIPD, Dept. for Work & Pensions, DfES,
GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC Bank, Leeds Met. University, Manpower, Marks & Spencer, Nationwide Building
Society, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Royal Mail, Sainsburys and Shell. It is supported by Age Concern
England.
77
discriminatory practices. Whether they actually do so, and how effectively this can be
monitored, are open questions.

1 The research
There are pressing economic and demographic reasons for the older age group being
targeted for increased labour market participation. Europe has an ageing population,
because of a combination of a low birth-rate, which means that an increasing proportion
of the labour force is falling into the higher age bands, and increased life expectancy.
Large numbers of people can now expect to spend at least twenty years of their life
economically inactive, following retirement at the age at which they attain the State
Pension Age (SPA). This post-retirement period may last for thirty or even forty years
for people who are forced out of the labour market before they are eligible for a pension.
Yet ‘increased participation of older workers is important if the EU is to create the
estimated 15 million jobs needed to fulfil the target agreed at Lisbon of a 70%
employment rate by 2010. It is also fundamental to the future sustainability of our
economies, in the face of expected reductions in the working age population’ (European
Commission 2004). This raises important questions concerning discrimination against
older workers, both in and out of employment, and reasons for labour market exit, both
before and at SPA, in order to develop policies which will succeed in re-integrating older
people and encouraging them to stay longer in employment or self-employment.
Three types of methodology were employed in this research:

• Literature review: summary and analysis of existing literature

• Quantitative: a summary of statistical data
• Qualitative: analysis of life history interviews with people aged 50 and above at
the time of interview
The quantitative part of the research consisted of a statistical report on the labour
market position of older (50+) people in Glasgow, based on statistical data supplied by
the Office for National Statistics, Labour Market Trends, the New Earnings Survey, the
Labour Force Survey and the Local Area Labour Force Survey4. The lower boundary of
age 50 is that used in the presentation of these statistics, so it has been used
throughout this research, notwithstanding the probability that discrimination against
older people begins earlier.

¾ The qualitative research consisted of an analysis of previously unused data, from the
Learning Outcomes Survey (1993-7) conducted by Maria Slowey and Pamela
Clayton of the University of Glasgow in the West of Scotland. Although now rather
historic, this provided a useful starting point for forming hypotheses and illuminating
the data with the experience of individuals. The sample was drawn from adults who
had participated in some kind of learning in the West of Scotland within the previous
six years.

4 Note that some statistics refer to the United Kingdom (that is, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland) whereas others refer only to Great Britain (that is, the United Kingdom excluding Northern
Ireland).
78
A summary of findings from the quantitative data is presented first, followed by the
literature review and ending with the main points of the qualitative analysis, where case
studies and extracts from interviews illuminate the topic. Finally, some examples of
good practice are summarised.

2 Quantitative research: a statistical summary of the

labour market situation of people aged 50 and above, with
particular reference to Glasgow City
Glasgow City might be expected to be a microcosm of the United Kingdom, or at least
of Scotland, in terms of the composition of the labour force. This turned out not to be the
case in every respect. The following summary contains data on unemployment rates,
earnings, hours worked and qualifications in the United Kingdom as a whole, followed
by a short comparison with Scotland and finally by the special features of Glasgow.

2.1 The economic activity of older people in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom over the last eighteen or so years employment has been rising
and unemployment falling, for both men and women, although at different rates. In
March to May 2001 the overall ILO unemployment rate5 was 5 per cent, down from 11.2
per cent in 1986.The ILO unemployment rate of the 50-59/64 group, however, was only
2.9 per cent. The ILO measure is higher than the claimant count and since it covers a
period rather than a point in time it is difficult to compare them.

From the point of view of analysis by age, however, some useful conclusions can
nevertheless be drawn. The claimant count for March 2001 shows that almost one third
of people aged fifty to retirement had been claiming for more than twelve months,
against an all-age average of 19.7 per cent; the ILO figures are 40.0 per cent and 26.1
per cent respectively (Labour Market Trends January 2002). In other words, once
unemployed, older people are more likely than average to become long-term
unemployed; and the difference between the claimant count and the ILO figures
suggests that for every five people aged fifty and over on Job Seeker’s Allowance there
was one more who was ‘economically inactive’ but would like to enter paid work.
In Great Britain, the pattern of earnings for full-time female workers, both manual and
non-manual, is very similar: there is a tendency for average pay to decline after a
certain age and before pensionable age (currently 60 for women). The age at which the
likelihood of lower wages begins, however, varies between these groups. For full-time
female manual employees the decline begins after the age of twenty-nine. Their income
goes from average gross weekly earnings of £244.80 (all aged 21 and over) down to
£235.70 for those aged 50-59 and £219.00 for the 60-64 age group. Furthermore, 40
per cent of the 50-59 age group earned less than £200.00 a week. Female non-manual
workers’ pay declines from the age of 40, from £432.50 at age 30-39 to £382.30 at age
50-59 and £342.20 at age 60-64. For women working part time, however, the age
differences are far less striking and the relative earnings decline begins around 60
years of age.

5 ‘People without a job who were available to start work in the two weeks following their interview and had
either looked for work in the four weeks prior to their interview or were waiting to start a job they had
already obtained’ (National Statistics web site).
79
For full-time male manual workers the earnings decline begins after the age of 49. For
example, 52.9 per cent of those aged 40-49 earn over £350 per week, compared with
46.2 per cent of those aged 50-59, 33.8 per cent of those aged 60-64 and 14.6 per cent
of those over sixty-four. The situation is, however, very different for full-time male non-
manual workers, where those aged 50-59 are likely to earn more than the average, and
19.8 per cent in this age group earn £800 per week or more, compared with an average
of 16.5 per cent of all aged twenty-one and over. The best-favoured age group,
however, is 40-49, where 21.2 per cent earn £800 per week or more; and there is a fall
in average weekly earnings after this age, particularly for the 60-64 age group, where
average earnings are almost £120 per week less than those aged 40-49, and a greater
percentage than average earn less than £290 per week. All non-manual male age-
groups, however, have higher average earnings than do manual workers and all men
have higher average earnings than women (New Earnings Survey 2001).

The figures for normal basic hours in Great Britain for full-time6 male manual workers
show that sixty-one per cent of those still working after the age of sixty-four worked over
thirty-nine hours per week, compared with only about thirty-six per cent of the 40-59 age
group; and as manual workers in general get older, they are more likely to work longer
hours. Non-manual workers, especially those aged sixty and above, follow a similar
pattern. Although women on average work fewer hours than men, a similar pattern
emerges: age has only a small impact on the number of hours worked by full-time
female manual workers and even less by non-manual workers; there appears to be a
small reduction of hours by part-time female workers only from the age of 60 (New
Earnings Survey 2001).

Overall, women in Great Britain are less well qualified than men: more have no
qualifications or nothing higher than GCSE A-C passes or equivalent, and fewer have
degrees or A levels, although similar percentages of men and women have higher
education qualifications below degree level. Since women’s increased entry into higher
education and greater school success, which has led to younger women becoming
better qualified, older women are even more likely to have no or low qualifications
(Labour Force Survey 2002).

2.2 A comparison of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom

Economic activity7 rates and employment rates for both men and women are broadly
similar in Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole, though the unemployment rate
is higher north of the Border than in England (Office for National Statistics website, UK
in figures). Average gross weekly earnings for full-time employees are lower in Scotland
but so is the number of hours worked, which accounts for some of the difference. The
main differences in number of normal basic hours are found between full-time non-
manual workers, where those in Great Britain as a whole are more likely to work long
hours; and female part-time workers, who are, conversely, likely to work longer hours in

6 Part-time male workers are excluded from this part of the analysis in the New Earnings Survey,
presumably because their numbers are too small to allow valid analysis of sub-categories.
7 'Those deemed 'economically active' are the employed and self-employed (whether full- or part-time)
and unemployed jobseekers. The rest are 'economically inactive' and include students, retired people,
those with private incomes, those looking after children or older people or disabled people and those
unable to work through illness or disability. Thus economic activity is defined as paid work (or the search
for it), as opposed to unpaid work (no matter what the benefit to individuals and society).
80
Scotland (New Earnings Survey 2001). Overall, however, the Scottish data are close
enough to the Great Britain average to use British figures as proxies where more
detailed Scottish data is missing or unreliable because of the smaller sample size.

Economic activity declines after the age range 35-49 in Scotland. In March to May 2002,
85.4 per cent of that age group were in the labour market, compared with only 67.1 per
cent for the fifty to retirement age group (non-seasonally adjusted figures). Furthermore,
this constitutes a decline over the previous year. There are, however, differences
between men and women. Whereas in the 35-49 age group, 91.4 per cent of males and
79.4 per cent of females were economically active, the gap narrowed considerably for
the fifty to retirement group, at 68.1 per cent for males (a decline from the previous
year) and 65.7 per cent for females (a small increase). Similarly, between the 35-49 and
50-retirement age groups, the employment rate fell overall from 81.2 per cent to 63.7
per cent; the latter is the lowest rate of any group except those aged 16-17. The fall was
much steeper for men (from 86.6 to 63.9 per cent) than for women (from 76.0 to 63.5
per cent), and this resulted in a close similarity in the employment rates of men and
women aged fifty to pensionable age. After pensionable age, 7.1 per cent of women and
6.5 per cent of men remained in paid work. Twice as many people as average aged 50+
were long-time unemployed; and of the 666,000 people of working age in Scotland
classified as economically inactive in March-May 2002, 230,000 said they wanted a job
(Office for National Statistics 2002).

2.3 The economic activity of older people in Glasgow

If Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole are broadly similar, Glasgow has some
very distinctive features. It is the biggest city in Scotland, with an estimated population
of 609,370 in 2002. The economic activity rate, however, is markedly lower than the
Scottish average, at only 69 per cent of the working age population compared with 78.2
per cent for Scotland as a whole. Of those aged fifty to retirement age, over half of both
men (51.1 per cent) and women (58.1 per cent) were economically inactive. Those still
economically active were more likely than average to be in part-time employment,
though 70.3 per cent were working full time. Those working full time were likely to earn
more than the Scottish average.

The ILO unemployment rate and claimant counts are higher in Glasgow than the
Scottish average; and whereas in the United Kingdom as a whole the 50+ age group
has a lower than average claimant count, in Glasgow, against an all-age computerised
claimant count of 4.5 per cent in 2000, those aged 50-54 had a rate of 6.10 per cent and
those in the 55-59 group of 5.62 per cent (but only 0.66 per cent for men aged 60-64).
Glasgow is, of course, a city of many parts, and claimant rates varied between
parliamentary constituencies, from 10.5 per cent in Pollok to 1.0 per cent in Kelvin
(Local Area Labour Force Survey 2000).

81
In all there were 72,000 disabled people of working age (both DDA and work-limiting
disabled8). This means that almost twenty per cent of the working age population has
some measure of disability. Of these, only twelve thousand were economically active
and of these three-quarters were employed and one-quarter unemployed, a rate of
about two and a half times the general unemployment rate in Glasgow. Seven thousand
of these twelve thousand had a work-limiting disability only. There were, therefore, five
thousand DDA disabled who were economically active; but the majority were
economically inactive (Local Area Labour Force Survey 2000).

The figures for disability for Glasgow City are not differentiated by age because of the
small sample size, but it is generally the case that older people have a much higher rate
of disability than younger ones. In the United Kingdom the rates of receipt of disability
benefits in 1999 rose from about 3 per cent for those aged 20-34 to over 17 per cent of
those aged 55-59 (OECD n.d.); and 26 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men aged
50 to retirement reported a long-term illness or disability which restricted their daily
activities (Office for National Statistics Online, n. d.). In addition, Glasgow has an
unfortunate but accurate reputation as a city with an extremely poor health record: it has
the lowest life expectancy in the United Kingdom, ten years below the highest for men
and 8.1 years below the highest for women (Health Statistics Quarterly 2001).

LFS data from March 2000-February 2001 inclusive suggest that Glasgow City had a
higher than average rate of working age people with no qualifications, that is, more than
the 16.7 per cent average for the United Kingdom as a whole; it was also below the
United Kingdom average of 16.7 per cent of working age employees who had received
job-related training in the four weeks before their interview. On the other hand, it had a
higher proportion than the United Kingdom average (which is 23.2 per cent) of working
age people qualified to level 4 (first degree level) (Office for National Statistics 2001).
The Local Area Labour Force Survey (2000) found that ninety-three thousand persons
of working age (24.60 per cent) were likely to have no qualifications, and only forty-four
thousand of these were economically active,. Thus about a quarter of those of working
age and about seventeen per cent of the Glasgow labour force had no qualifications;
about sixty per cent of the latter were women.

Complete figures are not available because of sample size; but it appears that of the
76,000 people without qualifications, those aged 50 to retirement made up over two-
fifths. Of those in the labour market, 28 per cent in this age group had no qualifications.
Eighty per cent of people of working age were not participating in adult learning,
whether taught or untaught. More men (147,000) than women (138,000) of working age
were non-participants. The samples were too small to allow analysis by age; but six
thousand persons aged fifty and over were reported as participating in taught adult
learning only, and 182,000 were not participating in any adult learning (Local Area
Labour Force Survey 2000). There are no reliable figures for those with NVQ1-3 with
regard to all in this age group; but at the other end of the qualification scale, nine
thousand (nearly twelve per cent) of working age and six thousand (nearly seventeen
per cent) of those in the labour market had first degrees or above. To the extent that
occupation, education and class are related, it is likely that those in the labour market
without qualifications are working predominantly in low-skilled, low-class occupations or

8 DDA disabled are those who are deemed eligible for disability benefit; those with work-limiting disability
are deemed unfit for certain kinds of work.
82
are unemployed, whereas the qualified are more likely to be in high-paid, high-status
middle-class jobs.

3 Selected literature: older people in and out of the United

Kingdom labour market

3.1 Unemployment and economic inactivity in later years

The issue of unemployment in later years has been noted for some years. For example,
the Family and Working Lives Survey focused on the employment and family histories
of a sample of around 11,000 people. The analysis suggested that the age of fifty often
marked a turning point. In particular, manual workers, always at greatest risk of
unemployment, suffered increased worklessness from this age on and fewer than half
returned to paid work (McKay & Middleton 1998). Once unemployed, it appears that
older people have difficulty re-entering employment; and after two years of
unemployment the chances are very small (Hirsch 2003, p. 22). A major reason for this
is discrimination by employers against older unemployed workers and many become
discouraged: perhaps for every ten people aged fifty or more registered unemployed
there are twenty-five who have withdrawn from the labour market for this reason (Ford
1996). A Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) survey found that about half of
those now retired had done so voluntarily; but about two-thirds, particularly men,
reported that they had been forced out, principally by ill-health or redundancy
(Humphrey et al. 2003, p. 4). State services such as JobCentre Plus (including New
Deal 50 Plus) and Employment Zones have had some success in assisting older
unemployed people back towards paid work, but have made insufficient impact on those
who are not claiming benefits (Moss & Arrowsmith 2003, p. 10).

A certain proportion of those who are economically inactive will never have been in the
labour market, either through illness and disability, caring responsibilities, other
constraints or free choice: one in eight of this age group, mainly women, had been out
of the labour market for a very long time or had never worked (Humphrey et al. 2003, p.
9). Nevertheless, the majority of men and large numbers of women do have a labour
market history.

Despite the continued existence of unemployment, albeit at five per cent (Labour Force
Survey 2003), which is low by European Union levels, there are labour shortages.
These result from a mixture of demographic change, greater numbers of young people
continuing in education after the minimum school leaving age (sixteen in the United
Kingdom) and structural change in the economy. More specifically, however, there are
skills shortages. At least four types of skill can be defined: key skills; occupation-
specific skills, involving specialised knowledge and abilities; basic skills, including
literacy; and personal attributes, covering a wide range of characteristics, such as
motivation. The CBI Employment Trends Survey (CBI 2001) found that 39% of those
surveyed said that skill shortages had a significant or severe impact on business

83
performance. Small Enterprises appear to have the worst skill shortages and many are
worried by, inter alia, a shortage of skilled workers (Stanworth 2001). Skills in short
supply include technical skills at associate professional level but also ‘people skills’ such
as customer care. Similar shortages are found in a range of European countries. Yet
when employers with recruitment problems were asked if they thought early retirement
should be discouraged very few agreed and it was unusual to find recruitment policies
which included people aged over 45 (Spence & Kelly 2003).

In most occupations there is little practical reason for this neglect. Older people do
suffer a decline (which starts from the mid-30s) in ‘hearing, vision, lung capacity,
muscular-skeletal strength, processing-speed and memory’ but at the same time
comprehension and knowledge improve (Age Concern Policy Unit 2004, p. 22); and this
means that in occupations involving continuous paced data processing, rapid learning
and heavy lifting become less suitable. In skilled manual work, undemanding work and
knowledge-based work without extreme time pressure, however, either experience
counteracts lost capacity or no capacity is lost. Thus, people over 50 are as productive
as people aged 25-49 over a range of occupations from operative to senior managerial.
Furthermore, reports from firms which have become ‘champions’ of older people in work
and from the Employers’ Forum on Age (EFA) state that where more older people are
employed there is less absenteeism; less short-term sickness absence and no more
overall absence through sickness than younger people; more commitment to the job;
improved customer relations because of better social skills and social awareness; and
higher retention (Brown 2000). For example, the Nationwide Building Society reports
that turnover is only 4% among older employees compared with 10% among younger
ones and widening the recruitment age saved £7 million in staff turnover costs. In
addition there is the opportunity for the informal mentoring of young employees (Third
Age Employment Network 2002; Age Concern Policy Unit 2004).
Except in a minority of occupations, then, there is no reason why people who wish to
should not continue working up to and beyond the SPA, and there may be a good
business case for trying to persuade employees to do so. Some older workers,
however, will not be persuaded while others may demand change in working practices,
as the next section shows.

3.2 Who leaves early, who stays on and why?

‘Older people’ are not a homogeneous group, but sub-divided by gender, age,
education, work experience, ethnicity, health, family situation, geographical location,
personality and wishes in relation to types of job and hours of work. Similarly, the
vulnerability of older people to early (forced) exit from paid work varies according to,
inter alia, education, qualifications, country and region, sex, sector, the Normal Retiring
Age (NRA) set by the employer (and which may be below the SPA) and the attitudes of
individual employers. For example, the public sector is more ‘age-friendly’ than the
private sector, though there are, as stated above, examples of private companies taking
steps to retain older workers. Women without partners are more likely than those with to
be constrained by financial reasons from leaving early, irrespective of qualifications
(Mckay & Smeaton 2003).

84
3.2.1 The role of qualifications
Qualifications and types of job have been shown to affect the timing of labour market
exit but the patterns are not straightforward. Clearly a good occupational pension which
can be drawn pre-SPA, significant amounts of savings or a tempting voluntary
redundancy package make it possible for more highly-qualified workers to choose to
leave paid work early. This is very rarely the case for low-qualified workers. So, as
might be expected, people planning to retire early tend to be highly-educated
professionals, those on high incomes, in sedentary jobs and with private pensions. This
was also the profile of many who did retire pre-SPA (Humphrey et al. 2003). Another
factor in this decision is the retirement of a partner (Hirsch 2003). Qualified people with
good occupational pensions are likely to leave in order to enjoy more leisure time, with
their partner, for example, rather than feeling pushed out (Humphrey et al. 2003).

3.2.2 Leisure and caring responsibilities

In some cases ‘leisure’ might not be the appropriate term. One quarter of families have
their children looked after by grandparents (of course, these are not necessarily aged
50+) for an average of almost fifteen hours a week and three million people over the
age of 50 are carers (Age Concern Policy Unit 2004). In some cases workers do not
wish to or need to give up their jobs completely for these reasons; rather they wish to
work fewer hours or more flexibly (Hirsch 2003).
For those, however, who can afford to leave but have no pressing necessity to do so,
attitude to leisure is an important factor, but so is attitude to work. This may partly
explain why, despite the foregoing, those with qualifications are much more likely to
work longer than those without. Of men aged 50-SPA in employment, two-thirds were,
in descending order of numbers, skilled tradesmen, managers, professionals and
associate professionals (Labour Force Survey 2003): in other words, in jobs with the
potential, inter alia, to offer satisfaction and a measure of autonomy.

3.2.3 Health
One salient factor, whatever the level of qualification, is health. It is no surprise to find
that, the older people get, the more likely they are to become ill. This appears to
accelerate for men from the age of fifty, whereas the pattern for women is of a more
uniform decline in health (General Household Survey 1997).

Those working post-SPA were likely to be in good to excellent health. A good number
(18.0% of men and 19.7% of women) were working on in elementary occupations
requiring some physical stamina (McKay & Smeaton 2003). This tends to imply that
poor health or disability forces out many who would otherwise have continued working
from choice. Another factor is the health of the partner (Hirsch 2003). Overall, in the
DWP survey, about half of those aged 50-SPA cited some health problems and a
similar proportion of those who had retired early - particularly those who had retired very
early - had done so because of ill health. Of those of labour market age but not in paid
work, 43 per cent were long-term sick or disabled. Of those who said that they would
like to have a job, the great majority felt that their health would prevent them from doing

85
so. Most, however, felt their health precluded them from working and this was probably
a factor in their claims that they did not wish to work (Humphrey et al. 2003).

Although health is an important factor in early exit, substantial numbers continue to work
despite at least some degree of health problems or disability. Humphrey et al. found that
19 per cent (about the same proportions of men and women) of those aged 50-SPA
reporting such problems were in work (2003, p. 137).

3.2.4 Class
Health service usage suggests class differences in health. Employed managerial and
professional men aged 50-59 were only one-third as likely as economically inactive
professional and managerial men and one quarter as likely as economically inactive
unskilled men and women to visit their doctor, and were much more likely than the other
groups to report that their general health was good. For women the main difference is
between skilled and unskilled women. Overall, there is a hierarchy in health, with the
employed feeling the most healthy, followed by a sharp drop to the unemployed and a
further drop to the economically inactive (General Household Survey 1997). Within each
category, however, there are class differences. For example, economically inactive
former professional workers were three times as likely to report good health as
economically inactive former manual workers (British Household Panel Study 1998).
That class plays a part is also suggested by English figures suggesting that 'decreasing
life expectancy is associated with increasing deprivation', particularly for men (Health
Statistics Quarterly 2001). As noted in the statistical summary, Glasgow has a
particularly poor health record. Reasons given for this range from unemployment,
poverty, deprivation, stress arising from a changing labour market and industrial base,
to choice of unhealthy lifestyle, notably through smoking, alcohol and a diet high in
saturated fat, or a combination of these factors.

3.2.5 Discrimination in employment

There are different aspects to discrimination, both open and effective. Open
discrimination occurs when there is a fixed retirement age (NRA). This is sometimes
well below the SPA and is based on the idea that certain jobs (e.g. flying planes) can no
longer be done after a certain fixed age, irrespective of the health of the individuals
concerned. In other cases people may be pressured into taking early retirement as a
way of shedding labour or replacing them with younger, cheaper workers. Effective, if
unofficial, discrimination is evident from the well-documented facts that older people
have poorer than average access to jobs on being made redundant or returning to the
labour market after a break; to good-quality, well-paid or satisfying jobs; to in-service
training or re-qualification; to apprenticeships; or to career development support. Some
feel unappreciated by their employers or are not offered more flexible working patterns
where this would enable retention. Hirsch (2003) cites as one reason for early exit that
work had become more pressurised and some had grown to hate their jobs.

Furthermore, state policy, or lack of it, effectively contributes to the poor labour market
position of older people. There is legislation which prohibits employment rights after the
age of 65 (this has been challenged by an Industrial Tribunal); which allows good
redundancy terms to be offered to employees aged fifty; and which prevents employees

86
continuing to work part-time while simultaneously drawing an occupational pension from
the same employer. In addition, employers face problems obtaining liability insurance
for people beyond SPA.

Some employers stereotype older people as being more expensive in terms of salary
and as unable to learn or re-train. A 2002 study on early labour market exit by Barnes
discovered that some left early because of perceptions of age discrimination in the
workplace (Hirsch, 2003). Hence some who might wish to continue beyond normal
retiring age (NRA) are not allowed to do so, for a variety of reasons, some practical but
others based on stereotyped notions of the capability of older people.

Not only may older people be prevented from staying on, they are excluded from the
means which would facilitate this. In order to enter or stay in the labour market, it is
necessary for everyone, including older people, to improve and update their skills and
competences. In some cases, further training, re-training for a different position or a
change in working hours can assist an older worker to stay in employment. The main
discrimination in training provision in certain countries, however, is on the grounds of
age. For example, in 2001 in the United Kingdom only 23 per cent of older employed
people had received training in the previous thirteen weeks compared with forty per cent
of those aged 16-24 and thirty per cent of those aged 25-49 (Harrop, 2004, p. 23). The
National Health Service faces a severe shortage of nurses and is trying to attract older
and former employees - yet it has done little to retain them in the first place by retraining
or giving the option of physically lighter work (Hirsch 2003). A European survey found
that the amount of vocational training undertaken by employees declined with age, and
especially training that was helpful for career progression; and yet older workers were
more likely than younger ones to state that they needed training in certain aspects of
their work, such as using a computer, though less likely to express a wish for training in
being well-organised, imaginative and dealing with the public (Spence & Kelly 2003). It
is significant that employees selected for interview by employers in the Glasgow survey
(see below) did not include any over fifty. This does not necessarily mean that older
employees received no training; but it does not contradict the documented tendency for
employers to focus training on younger people. There is in addition a gender issue: in
some cases older women find it harder to access vocational training than older men and
older women are more likely than older men to be out of the labour market or in
insecure employment.

Hence, employers are often not prepared to invest in skills training for their older
employees, especially the less-skilled, and encourage them to take responsibility for
their own learning. This appears to be a Europe-wide phenomenon: training is
undertaken by 2% of unskilled workers over 55 but by 10% with degrees in the same
age group (Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs 2003). Thus
unskilled workers, in an era of rapid technological change, are more at risk of dismissal,
perhaps in the guise of early retirement. Instead employers still focus training
opportunities on younger workers, in the mistaken belief that they will stay with the
organisation longer than will older workers (Hirsch 2003, p. 13).

Not all older people, however, desire training or retraining. Some may see it as ‘going
back to school’, feel ‘too old to learn’ or think they are incapable of doing another kind of
job (Ford et al 2003). Older people have poor access to vocational guidance and

87
counselling, particularly that which is suitable for their needs - guidance for older adults
remains seriously under-developed in the majority of European member states, as the
recent OECD career guidance policy review demonstrates (OECD 2003). One survey
found that four-fifths of employees think that they need advice in order to manage their
careers but only 13% felt that the advice they received, usually from line managers with
little or no training in this area, had any value, and very little of it concerned job
transition. In particular, ‘career development for older workers is not a priority issue …
there is a very passive view of managing this segment of the workforce’ (cited in the
Third Age Employment Network 2003, p. 6).

Nevertheless, the lesson from McKay and Smeaton’s (2003) survey of post-SPA
workers appears to be that firms which can retain workers up to SPA have a chance of
retaining them post-SPA, at least for a few years, if they find their jobs satisfying and
remain in good health. According to the DWP survey, the higher their qualifications the
more people were likely to carry on working. There is, therefore, an opportunity for
employers to retain those with the most confidence to continue learning. The great
majority overall worked full time, though only slightly over half the women did. Four-fifths
were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs (Humphrey et al. 2003, p. 30-34). Of those
who intended to continue at least until they received their state pension, the commonest
reason was financial, such as the need to build up savings or pension fund, but a strong
reason was enjoyment in their work, followed by the perception that work would keep
them fit and active. Women were more likely than men to cite financial reasons but
almost as many women as men cited enjoyment of working or of their jobs (ibid., p. 57).

4 Qualitative research: Older people and the labour

market: the real lives behind the statistics
The quantitative data shows that people aged 50 and above in the United Kingdom are
less likely than average to be unemployed, although those who are have a much higher
chance of becoming long-term unemployed, and some ‘disappear’ off the
unemployment register, even though a certain proportion state that they still wish to
work. Currently more problematic than unemployment is the fall in earnings from well
before retirement, which has negative effects on savings and pensions. This affects
both men and women, full-time and part-time, manual and non-manual, but women’s
pay on average declines before that of men. The data on hours worked shows little sign
of work-life balance improving with age.

Glasgow differs from the United Kingdom and even from the rest of Scotland in certain
respects, and there is evidence of a split personality: higher earnings and shorter hours
(for some) but higher unemployment and more economic inactivity; more highly-
qualified people and more people without any qualifications. People aged 50 + are less
than 50 per cent likely to be in the labour market; and they are more likely than average
to work part-time, which may suggest an attempt at a more congenial work-life balance,
or may arise from greater availability of part-time work;

88
There is a high rate of disability; and people aged fifty and above make up a significant
proportion of those without qualifications, who in turn are more likely to be working
class. It is, therefore, difficult to disentangle age from disability and class when
researching older age discrimination.
Some of these issues were addressed by a qualitative study, based on life-history
interviews, was carried out in the late 1990s, of adults in or originating from Glasgow,
aged fifty and over, who had participated in adult education and training within five
years of the interview (this was part of a larger survey). They were selected from five
sources: adult continuing education; community education; the Adults in Schools
programme; access courses for higher education entry; and employers.

The sample was drawn in a variety of ways depending on the kind of learning involved:
¾ The Open Programme of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education,
University of Scotland - a random sample of all students participating in a single
year;
¾ Access programmes of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education,
University of Scotland - all students registered on two successive years;
¾ Access programmes under the Scottish Wider Access Partnership - all students who
had subsequently entered the University of Glasgow in a single year;
¾ Adults in Schools programme: all students who completed this programme in six
schools in a single year;
¾ Community-based programmes: all students who completed Community Education
Open University courses in a single year in one area; and all students who
completed Workers’ Educational Association courses in a single year in one area;
¾ Employees: these were selected by four large employers on the basis of having
undertaken training in the previous five years.

A letter was sent to all students whose names were drawn.

Life history interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim, were carried out
with those who agreed to participate. The interview schedule can be found in the
Appendix. Of the 105 interviewees, thirty-three were aged fifty or over. Those over
retirement age are included to show at what age they left work – or in one case went
part time. Most, but not all, were living in the City of Glasgow. Some were incomers,
others were former residents who had migrated to towns close by.

The extensive and intensive nature of the interviews yielded very rich qualitative data
which allows tentative conclusions to be reached as a basis for further reflection and
research. It must be noted, however, that their participation in formal learning, which
was the basis of their selection, is not typical of this age-group. Furthermore, some
interviewees had participated in more than one type of adult learning, ranging from
community education classes to degree studies. This adds diversity to the group
surveyed, in particular in encompassing a range of class positions and levels of
educational attainment.

89
Since the set is not representative of the age group in general (because of their
participation in adult learning9) the following figures are descriptive and not amenable to
statistical analysis or direct comparison with the statistical outline cited above (although
in fact there is a reasonable fit between the quantitative data and the qualitative
sample). Another limitation of the data is that the interviews were carried out between
1996 and 2000, when unemployment was much higher than it is now. The picture
painted of the reasons for both unemployment and economic inactivity, however, is
almost certainly still valid today and the purpose here is to draw on qualitative research
to illuminate the labour market situation of people aged fifty and over in the Glasgow
area.

Out of this group, eight out of the fourteen men and fourteen of the nineteen women
were below the official retirement age, or about two-thirds overall.

Of these below retirement age:

• Nine were economically inactive;
• Three were unemployed;
• Two, both men, were employed full time;
• Eight, all women, were employed part time.

Of those above retirement age:

• Nine were economically inactive;
¾ One of the economically inactive had been long-term unemployed
before reaching retirement age;
• One man over retirement age was still working part-time (although not at an
onerous job);
• One woman over retirement age was still working full time.

They have been divided for this analysis into six groups:
1. those who appear to be excluded from the labour market;
2. those who left early on health grounds;
3. those who left early, apparently by choice;
4. those who stayed on or returned despite health problems;
5. those still working from choice;
6. those still in work but not necessarily by choice.

Pseudonyms have been used in all cases. The number in brackets by each name refers
to the order of interview in the whole survey (total 106).

9 See The Labour Market Situation Of People Aged 50 And Above In Glasgow City: Statistical Summary
which found that only a small number of people in this age group were recorded as engaged in taught
adult learning.
90
4.1 Being excluded – four case studies
The four case studies here are of three unemployed men in their fifties and one woman
who had been unemployed from her fifties but was now retired. They are the most
detailed of the case studies since they suggest age discrimination. All four had been
adversely affected by structural change and other factors outwith their control: the
decline in heavy industry and in unskilled work; the rise in interest rates; the
restructuring of the National Health Service; the general rise in unemployment. Neither
initial qualifications nor substantial adult learning, re-training and qualifications had
saved them from the dole. It cannot be said that they had chosen to be unemployed and
the three men, who were still of working age, were either working in a voluntary capacity
or actively seeking work. From the financial point of view all would have been better off
had they been employed.
In all four cases, discrimination on the grounds of age is discernible, but Robert seems
to have been the only one to internalise the idea that he was of less value because he
was older. They were, effectively, all excluded from the labour market.

4.1.1 Case study one

John (no. 13) was married with two school-age children and his wife was in full-time
employment as a clerical assistant. He had no health problems.
His father and uncles had been coal miners, like their father before them. The family
lived in a single end10 until, after the third child was born, they were moved to a modern
three-bedroom council house. His mother had returned in her late forties to the knitwear
factory which she had left when starting a family. His father had been determined that
his sons should not follow him down the pit but should take up skilled trades, and all
four boys completed apprenticeships.

John became an apprentice fitter/turner with an engineering firm and obtained an

Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) in Mechanical Engineering when he was twenty.
Two years later, he went into the Merchant Navy for seven years, before leaving to get
married. He worked as an engineer in one firm (rising to junior management level) until
he was forty-five, when he was made redundant. Having been continuously employed
since leaving school until he was forty-five, he became a victim of the steep decline in
the Glasgow engineering industry.
He was sent on a Manpower Services fifty-week training course in instrumentation.
Having been told they would get work placements at the end of it, the trainees
discovered shortly before the course ended that there were no placements available
because there were no longer any jobs in the industry. Coming from a family which had
customarily been in employment and valued vocational education, he tried to re-skill in
order to find secure employment. He saw an advertisement in a local paper for SWAP
(Scottish Widening Access Partnership)11 courses and embarked on one when he was
forty-six. Following this he began a teaching degree. At the same time, he took and
passed Higher English at night school, since this was essential for teaching. However,
he had to abandon his university course after one year because of the steep rise in
interest rates:

10 One room, with an outside toilet.

11 Scottish Widening Access Partnership. Students took ScotVec modules full-time for a year and on
successful completion were guaranteed a university place.
91
 ' Finances - that was just a simple - mortgage to pay, bills to pay. I had a loan
from the bank ... this was arranged a few years before that, and we managed to
come to an arrangement with the bank to pay this loan off, at so much. Then just
about that Easter, we got a letter off the bank saying "Circumstances have
changed, the rates have gone up, we want money from you." Well, it was just
physically impossible, and we were quite upset and annoyed and it was a case
then I was starting to haunt the Job Centres again …'

With a family to help support, he felt he had no choice but to leave university to seek
work again. Fortunately he got another job and was able to pay off the bank loan; but
when he was fifty-one, the firm went bankrupt. On his second redundancy, he invested
in two new skills. He took a basic welding certificate 'just to take my skills up' and then,
having seen an advertisement in the paper for bus drivers, used some of his small
amount of redundancy money to obtain his Public Carrying Vehicle Licence. He then
worked as a bus driver in a small firm for eighteen months but suspected he would be
laid off in the winter, so took a temporary technician's job with the City Council, hoping it
would be permanent. In the event it lasted six months and John had been unemployed
for the last seven months before the interview. He was now fifty-three years old and his
family was being supported by his unemployment benefit and his wife's earnings.
John did not mention age discrimination in the interview, but it is probable that his age,
despite his skills, experience, qualifications and motivation both to learn and work, was
a factor in his inability to find secure employment again.

4.1.2 Case study two

Jim (no. 41) was married with one dependent child. His wife worked part-time in a
factory and their only child was on a Youth Training Scheme. They lived in social
housing in an area with a high deprivation index. He had no health problems.
He came from a family that worked either in the shipyard or in related industries. His
father had been a skilled shipyard worker and his mother had worked in a mill. All Jim's
brothers had done apprenticeships, but he had left school without qualifications and
started work as a milk-boy. He had been almost continuously employed since that time
but had no qualifications or specialised skills, never had formal workplace training and
served no apprenticeship. He worked in a variety of jobs, mainly unskilled or semi-
skilled, and often on a casual basis, including postman, Forestry Commission worker,
factory operative in England, company store man and building site work. Some jobs,
especially those on building sites, lasted only a week or a fortnight. During one period of
unemployment, when he was twenty-seven, he took part in a government Training
Scheme. His longest-lasting job was as a plater in the shipyard; but 'when you reach a
certain age people don't want to employ you!' When asked about his current
employment situation, he answered that he had no job, 'Because I cannae get one! …
the age barrier.'

Shortly after his last job he became a member, and subsequently chairman, of a
voluntary association. Although unpaid, this had become almost a full-time job and it
involved a lot of training and CPD12. Having had bad experiences at primary school
and attended a secondary school at a time when only 'really really clever' pupils took
formal exams, the thought of formal learning had been frightening until his first course,

12 Continuous professional development - in this case, changing legislation means frequent study for the
volunteers who run credit unions.
92
provided by the WEA13. He had since taken a business course for community workers
and was now a computer user and taking a course in Desk Top Publishing. He hoped to
have further training, requiring both new and higher-level skills. A shy man ('I was a very
shy wee person'), he was now confident at public speaking (and was about to give a
radio interview). His work involved managerial and supervisory skills and he was also
happy to do any tasks that needed to be done. Since becoming unemployed he had
obtained a range of new skills and much greater confidence in himself both as a person
and as a learner.

Despite feeling that he was discriminated against because of his age, he was still
optimistic:
'Hopefully I thought all these sort of things might have led to a paid job, but it
didn't ... no' yet, I've still got time! … I'm not going to say I'm totally ambitious but
if anything came along that I thought I could dae I would apply for it, I would go
for it ... That wouldnae have been the case before. I'd have just sat back and let
the others go ahead. It makes you ruthless!'
In the meantime his voluntary work was essential; without it, he said, 'Id be lost'. His
reasons for doing it were 'because work is the normal thing to do', he enjoyed working,
he believed in the philosophy of the type of voluntary work he did and above all for the
company of other people.

He had last worked when he was forty-four. At the time of the interview he was fifty-four
years old and had been unemployed and working as a volunteer for nine years. His
family was supported by his unemployment benefit and his wife's earnings.
In an area of high unemployment and few jobs, it would seem unlikely that he would
now obtain a job despite proving his potential in voluntary work, but he was certainly
motivated to do so - if the opportunity arose. Financial considerations were not
particularly important as his wife had no trouble getting well-paid factory work and they
were both accustomed to living on a modest income. Indeed, his wife (who was also
interviewed) had been brought up in extreme poverty.

4.1.3 Case study three

Robert (no. 61) had never left the parental home nor got married. He now lived alone in
social housing, which he had taken over when his parents died. His brother, who had
also remained in the family home, had died a few years earlier. He was financially
responsible only for himself. Three years earlier Robert had lost the hearing in one ear
but did not regard this as seriously limiting what he could do.
He came from a family which had been employed in mining 'from way back' and his
father had 'never missed his work', so the family was financially stable. His mother was
a part-time waitress and had also done many other kinds of work. They lived in a
terraced house in a skilled working-class neighbourhood. He had passed the qualifying
exam to take up a free place in a fee-paying school but since all his school mates were
going to the local grammar school, his parents decided he should not take up his place.

13 Workers' Educational Association

93
He liked the school at first but from the third year found it 'terrible … like a prison … I
dreaded going into it' and his grades nose-dived. Nevertheless he obtained his Scottish
Leaving Certificate but left at the age of fifteen.

He became an apprentice with British Rail and six years later completed his City &
Guilds in Electric Welding. Six years later, however, he moved to work-study,
completing City & Guilds when he was thirty and working in this field for a further six or
seven years. Unfortunately, the Beeching cuts began after he joined British Rail and as
the industry contracted he moved around different parts and was made redundant five
times. He had two other employers in his work life. He worked as an operative in a
whisky bond; and as a meter reader for the Water Board. The latter involved four
thirteen-week contracts, followed by being paid off for a week and then re-hired. This
lasted for three years and then the post was abolished. He was now fifty. Thus, he had
been employed almost continuously, but increasingly precariously, first in an industry
which was undergoing major cuts and then on a series of fixed-term contracts.

While he was still working in the railway, his father had told him to give up his job and
offered to pay for him to further his education, but Robert had felt that, at twenty-three,
he was too old. At the age of fifty, bored with being unemployed, he went to the local
high school's evening classes and took ordinary grade arithmetic and a basic computing
module. He then saw an advertisement for SWAP courses and thought it might be
interesting and useful, and would fill the time. He then went on to take a university
degree, which included mathematics, statistics, psychology, Scottish history and
philosophy. He was now fifty-five and described himself as ‘addicted to learning’.
The degree he took was ‘non-vocational’ in that it was not focused on a particular
occupation. He did not find paid work, despite a tutor on the SWAP course telling the
class that 'if you finish a degree course, any graduate that's not got a job in six months
is not looking for work' (this was reported by John).
'I can’t get a job at all ... They’re not interested. I think it’s - age has something to
do with it but, having said that, I just - I’ve never even had an interview, not even
the courtesy of - it doesnae matter, that’s how it goes.'
He later said that he saw employers' point of view:
'If I was an employer, somebody came in at thirty years of age and I came in - we
both had the same - I mean, I wouldnae employ me either, because whoever’s
thirty or whatever age you are, you’re that wee bit quicker and you’re gonna get -
you should still be able to find something ... That’s the name of the game, I’m
afraid, you know.'
He felt that he had in any case, always been 'backward at putting myself forward' and
that now:
'the trouble with me is, I’ve no' got the energy I had when I was thirty, say ... I
wouldnae fight with five or six people to get a job. If they were younger and all
the rest of it, I’d say, "Well, carry on, I’ll wait to see if there’s anything left." I’m not
going to fall with the competitive - I went through all that, I’m not interested, you
know.'
In addition, he was not motivated towards any particular kind of work: 'even to this day I
don’t know what I want to do. You see these people that are fourteen, fifteen and they
know exactly where they’re going? I’ve never been like that ... '

94
Thus he described himself as diffident, non-competitive and lacking direction.
At the time of the interview Robert was fifty-six and had been out of the labour market
for six years. Since completing his degree course he had been unemployed for one
year. He was existing on a very low income from income support and doing voluntary
work tutoring in literacy and numeracy. He did not expect ever to be employed again
because of his age and seemed to be resigned to this. Adult education and voluntary
work now substituted for paid employment.

4.1.4 Case study four

Dorothy (no. 48) was sixty, retired and living with her husband who was on invalidity
benefit. She came from a very poor working-class family and left school at fifteen with
the Junior Leaving Certificate. Her parents valued education and the children were
clever but the family could not really afford for the children to stay on at school, and in
any case she was intimidated by the thought: ‘I had visions of going to the High School,
you know, and not being able to get the right sort of gym slip because we were poor.’
Her first job was in a factory and then, after some time working in shops, she had
become a nurse. She had spent only four years away from work while looking after her
children and gained the British Tuberculosis Association Certificate. She did not,
however, complete her State Registration because it was possible to get promotion
without it and ‘Again it was money, it's always money!’ Through the influence of her
husband, however, she had taken cases at Newbattle Abbey, a residential college for
adults.
Eventually, when she was fifty-five, the unit in which she worked had closed:
‘It was an awful sad thing that [the unit] went. I felt sad ... because it was a part of
my life, you know. It was a big part, you know. So that was that ...’
She then took Highers through the Adults in Schools Programme, and the effect had
been to feel that:
‘even when you're older and you know that you've lived two thirds of your life,
and your working life's over, there's still sometimes in your imagination, and you
think I wonder so-and-so, and you're fifty-odd ... I could go back to work, this sort
of thing.’
She had not, however, found work and remained unemployed until she reached
retirement age. She now had angina and there was no longer any possibility - or desire
- to return to work.

4.2 Early exit on health grounds – eight case studies

Out of the twenty-two of labour market age, five (two men and three women) had
illnesses or disabilities which limited what they could do and were out of the labour
market. Three others (two men and one woman) were now beyond retirement age but
had left early on health grounds. These cases will be examined, in order to look behind
the statistics on illness and disability. Of the case studies, one is hard to interpret for
shortage of information: the man from a middle-class background, who had retired from
teaching on health grounds, appeared to have made a full recovery from whatever had
earned him early retirement. Perhaps he had been suffering from work-related stress.
All had continued working up to and in some cases beyond the onset of their illnesses,
until forced to retire through inability to continue in work. None had been unemployed
when leaving the labour market on health grounds, so they do not fall into the category
of the older unemployed who ‘vanish’ from the figures through being re-assigned to
invalidity.

95
Most of them, however, continued to have active mental lives, taking part in adult
education and leisure activities. Given different kinds of employment, ‘mental’ rather
than manual, some might, and probably would, have continued working longer, perhaps
part-time.

4.2.1 Case study five

Peter (no. 12) came from a middle-class family and had taken a degree and a teaching
diploma. He had been a junior secondary school teacher who, having reached the
position of Assistant Head, retired at the age of fifty-six on the grounds of ill health.
When asked early in the interview, however, if he had any limiting illnesses or
disabilities, he had said that apart from 'a sore hip and backache - a drawback from time
to time, but not serious' he had none, and indeed his main hobby now was bowling. His
wife had returned to work full time and their family income, including his retirement
pension, was high. They owned their house outright. He was now sixty-three and
enjoying a full and active early retirement. Whatever the health problem had been that
had caused his early retirement seems to have proved temporary.

4.2.2 Case study six

Andrew (no. 24) came from a working-class family and had left school at fourteen; but
he had acquired a variety of qualifications up to Higher level through adult and
continuing education at different times of his life, including the time after leaving the
labour market. He had had a lung complaint and was awarded a ninety per cent army
disability pension once he had been able to prove that the tuberculosis he had
contracted while doing National Service had been provoked by the condition of the
barracks. He had gone on to have a wide variety of jobs, including shop owner, roofer,
telecommunications wire man, building labourer, vehicle body repairing and assistant
branch manager of a newspaper. He estimated that he had had at least twenty-four
jobs. When he was widowed, he left work to care for his fourteen-year-old daughter but
then returned again. At the age of fifty-five, however, he developed a heart condition
and was declared medically unfit for work.
. I sort of, tried to figure out what had caused the heart problem. I basically put it
down to the lung problem but at the same time I think that stress could affect the
heart ... so possibly a combination of the pressure and the previous medical
history resulted in the heart problem. But I definitely felt under pressure.
Thanks to his army pension on top of his disability allowance, he had a moderately good
income and a full social life. He lived in social housing and was now sixty-four.

4.2.3 Case study seven

Duncan (no. 71) was sixty-eight, retired and living in social housing on a very low
income caring for his wife, who was seriously ill. He came from a poor working-class
family which lived in a room and kitchen plus wash-house. His parents were uneducated
but keen on their children 'getting on', and his three siblings had done well in life. He
himself, however, had had scarlet fever at the age of seven and never fully recovered
the use of his legs after hospitalisation. He also developed chorea and psoriasis, and
from having been popular at school he became a victim of bullying. He also developed
arthritis.

96
 I've got arthritis ... It incapacitated me at the age of about 59, but it's always been
present, ever since I had scarlet fever, at the age of 7.
He left school at fourteen but he had begun work at the age of eleven, delivering bread
and newspapers. He continued as an errand-boy until his father got him a job as a
plater's helper in an unhealthy environment. After a chest infection so serious that he
almost died, he was left with chronic bronchitis. Subsequently he worked as a waiter, a
drover, a fireman on the railway and a door-to-door insurance salesman (which he left
after about four years suffering from stress). His last job was as a self-employed
window-cleaner, which lasted about twenty-four years (with occasional absences
because of his arthritis), until he had fallen and broken his arm, which failed to heal
properly. As his arthritis was worsening, he could no longer get customer liability
insurance. He retired at the age of fifty-eight. He had attended community education
classes on nutrition in order better to care for his sick wife. He had no qualifications.

4.2.4 Case study eight

Alex (no. 34) was now eighty-one years old, widowed and living on a comfortable
income in a house he owned outright. He was brought up in a working-class family but
because his mother was a successful dressmaker they were not poor. He obtained
Highers even though he left school at fifteen.
My mother made my father promise that I would not be made a tradesman like
he had been, and I would go on to Highers, which he did respect ... but I couldn't
afford to go to university, nor was I very anxious to go to university.
He was unemployed for almost a year because he was looking for a job which
interested him (‘I could have had a job in a bank but I didn't like the idea of a bank’) but
then joined a large firm as an office-boy and was soon being trained for the relatively
new profession of advertising. During the 1939-45 war he was a navigator and bomb-
aimer in the RAF. He returned to the same firm and rose to international advertising
manager, taking professional qualifications. He had a serious heart attack when he was
fifty-five and retired at the age of fifty-nine on a generous company pension. He now
had arthritis but swimming and adult education kept him alive and fit.

4.2.5 Case study nine

Carol (no. 1) was fifty-two years old. She came from a 'working-class and poor' family
living in a single end house. She had won a bursary to a grammar school but ‘finances
didn’t allow me to take it up.’ She had been obliged for financial reasons to leave school
at fifteen without qualifications. She later took two school-level qualifications in
vocational subjects. She had been employed first in the army, then in the hotel trade
and latterly as an auxiliary nurse. She had had osteo-arthritis since six years before the
interview and was sometimes unable to leave the house for long periods. Two years
after the start of her illness, at the age of forty-eight, she had left her job and suffered
depression. She had attended courses in order to keep her mind active and develop
new skills, aims which she achieved, and also found that typing was good exercise for
her fingers. This took her out of her depression. She now lived alone (she had never
married) in social housing on a small income from social benefits.

4.2.6 Case study ten

Moira (no. 49) was brought up in a room and kitchen with an outside toilet. She had left
school at fifteen, without qualifications, for financial reasons:

97
 Apparently the headmistress sent for my mother and told her I was an imbecile
because I was clever and I wouldn't stay. I'd really had enough ... My mother
needed the money, for me to go to work, you know. So I left school on Friday and
started work on Monday, in a place that I had no say in.
She worked in various factories until she married. She had last worked full-time for a
large retailer. She had injured her back at home at the age of forty and her condition
was then aggravated by caring for her elderly parents. Her job involved some heavy
work and after nineteen years with the same firm she had to retire at the age of fifty-two
on the grounds of ill health. She loved her work and admired her last employer, which,
she felt, and been very good to her. She had not, however, been offered special training
so that she could transfer to a sedentary job, which subsequent involvement in adult
education shows that she could have done.
Because I had no other skills I didn't really know what else I could do ... I would
not have left work. I intended to work until I'd done my 25 years … I've gone
through a period of depression because it's a big adjustment. I've worked all my
life at something.
She now had arthritis and spondylosis. She lived with her husband and daughter in a
house they were buying through a mortgage and received a disability allowance. She
was now fifty-five and her condition was worsening.

4.2.7 Case study eleven

Pat (no. 31) was fifty-eight. From a working-class family, she had left school at fifteen
for financial reasons, without qualifications:
My mother was set on my making money, and big money, ‘you're no living here
for nothing, you know’ ... she just wanted the money, and I wanted money. I
wasnae learned any better, you know, it was just a case of go till you're 15 and
then you get out and start earning money.
Before marrying she had worked in sewing factories; she left work to raise her family
and when the children went to school she worked in an electronics factory. She had had
chronic bronchitis for many years but this did not prevent her working. Realising that
redundancy was on the horizon, she decided to gain some qualifications.
I thought, I'll no’ get a job anywhere, I've no qualifications ... so a year before
leaving I took night classes in Hamilton Academic, trying to get some O levels ... I
thought to get a job I only needed two basics ... arithmetic and English ...
She did not use her O levels, however, but when the factory closed she worked part-
time in a shop until she damaged her back in an accident at home and was unable to
carry heavy weights. This was her last employment; she was forty-six. Her husband had
been bedridden with a spinal disease since he was twenty-eight and her son (who still
lived at home) was unemployed. They lived in social housing. Shortly before the
interview she had had a heart attack, followed by depression until she had a triple
bypass. She had now resumed her hobby, creative writing.

4.2.8 Case study twelve

Norma (no. 65) was sixty-one, living in a former council house they owned outright with
her husband, who was on invalidity benefit following a heart attack, and her son, who
was employed. She was brought up in a poor working-class family in a miner's row but
her mother was a good manager and there was always food on the table. She left
school without qualifications at fifteen, for financial reasons and became a machinist for

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the rest of her career, with about six years away when her children were small. After a
mastectomy she was put on Valium for seven years and when it was abruptly withdrawn
she had severe withdrawal symptoms and had suffered depression to varying degrees
ever since. She continued working and attending community education classes for
some time with the help of her work-mates and would have continued working up to
retirement, given the choice:
‘I would have worked - I did work. I worked right up until, and I don't know how I
went, the doctor said it was just because I've always been in the habit of getting
up and going to work, but I was really ill and I didn't even realise I was at work. It
was - I worked wi' my cousin and a friend … I asked later on and they say I just
sat there and worked. I don't remember it. [Would you have continued work
without the depression?] I would have, aye.’
She finally had to leave work at the age of fifty-four.

4.3 Early exit through choice? - seven case studies

In two cases, Douglas and Sarah, the decision to leave the labour market was freely
taken; in the cases of Sandra, Maureen and Liz, however, gender clearly played a role
in forming what might have appeared to be a free choice.
Douglas had always planned to retire early and being constrained to advance his
retirement by one year merely meant that he could fulfil his ambition of going to
university sooner. His early departure from the labour market was a matter of free
choice. This appears to have been Sarah’s case, too - she retired only one year before
the ‘official’ retirement age for women, after a continuous career (she had no children)
and on a reasonable income.

Whatever Sandra’s early ambitions, she left her job on starting a family, in a period
where this was expected of women whose husbands’ incomes could support the family.
Once the family was grown, she had no financial incentive to return to the labour
market. There is a hint that she might have lost confidence in her abilities. It appears,
however, that she had no regrets. Nevertheless, had she been a man, it is likely that her
life would have been very different. Similarly, it is possible that, had Maureen fulfilled
her ambition of becoming a teacher, she might have wanted to stay in the labour
market; but even if she had not been forced out of her job on marriage it is likely that
she would have had to leave to become a carer. Essentially, her exit, and the
permanence of that exit, was due to her sex - men did not lose their jobs on marriage
and it is women who are expected to be carers.

Liz had had a working life shaped around children, and although she had returned to
employment, she found it hard to combine with childcare. Later she returned again but
found that she preferred voluntary work to the kind of low-skilled work that she was now
qualified to do. Another constraint was the ‘benefit trap’: she was unlikely to earn
enough to compensate for the loss of benefits that would result.
The cases of Anne and James are hard to classify. Anne had returned to education
hoping to get a job but had not succeeded and called herself both unemployed and a
housewife. Although she had long-term illness this did not prevent her working. James
had left work early on ‘medical grounds’ because he could no longer carry on with the
kind of work he did, but he appears to have been happy with this.

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4.3.1 Case study thirteen
Douglas (no. 89) had been a farmer. He was from a wealthy middle-class background
and left public school at seventeen with Highers to go on to agricultural college. At the
age of sixty-three he had had a serious heart attack and a bypass operation, but the
only limitation he perceived was that he had to take things more slowly. Before that,
however, he had already retired, at fifty-nine.
I had been at university for either one or two years and then I had actually meant
to retire when I was sixty. I had one man on the farm and he decided to leave
and (…) it was going to be difficult to train somebody when I was at University
most of the time ... So that brought it forward a year.
So he rented out the land that he owned and fulfilled a long-term ambition to obtain a
university degree. He was now sixty-four, living with his wife on a very comfortable
income and enjoying a busy retirement taking adult education courses and pursuing
leisure activities.

4.3.2 Case study fourteen

Sarah (no. 08) was sixty-eight, a widow living by herself in a house she owned outright,
on a fairly comfortable income and in good health. She was brought up in a working-
class family, but unusually lived in a private house owned by her maternal grandfather.
She went to university, paying for her fees, books and so on by working and saving
money by living at home. After graduating she took a primary teaching certificate and
worked as a teacher, continuing after her marriage (she had no children) and ending up
as a headmistress. When she was asked about her early retirement she answered, ‘Oh
it wasn’t all that early, I was 58’, and her response to the question whether she had
continued with part-time work was very definite: ‘No way!’ There is no doubt that she
left voluntarily after a very successful career and was now living comfortably on a
pension and taking adult education courses.

4.3.3 Case study fifteen

Sandra (no. 16) was from a middle-class background but finances had been a problem
until her mother was able to take on paid work and send her daughter to private school.
She had taken a degree in medicine and her main job had been as an assistant lecturer
in a university. She had left on starting a family at the age of twenty-seven. Now fifty-
one, she was in comfortable circumstances and her husband earned a good income.
She had no limiting health problems and enjoyed a range of pastimes. Her account of
going back to school, however, held a few points of interest. She had taken a course as
an 'intellectual exercise, to see if I could still do it.' To her surprise, she had found that
when you get older you can learn more quickly and easily - you learn in a
different way. It's not true that you need to learn at an earlier age, and I don’t
agree that you learn more slowly when you’re older.
Now that she had discovered she was still capable of learning, she had no plans to take
further courses and no need to return to paid work.

4.3.4 Case study sixteen

Maureen (no. 40) was from a poor working-class family which valued education to the
extent of paying for private tuition for their daughter. Afraid that she would fail her
exams and unwilling to see her mother continue working in an unpleasant job, she had
left school at fifteen, to her parents’ disappointment. She worked in an office until she

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was married at the age of twenty-three, upon which she was forced to leave work by her
employer. Fortunately she was happy about this as she had really wanted to be a
teacher but had had a crisis of confidence and left school without taking the leaving
exam. She had no children but had spent most of her life nursing elderly relatives. By
the time the last one died she found it difficult to leave the house (though she had now
got past this phobia) and as she said, 'at the end of it you're left wondering what you've
been doing, and it's a bit late to pick up'. Her husband had a comfortable income, they
lived in a charming house which they owned outright and she neither wanted nor
needed a job; but she put a lot of time into a hobby involving research. She was now
fifty-six.

4.3.5 Case study seventeen

Liz (no. 79) was fifty-eight , living in social housing on a low income with her full-time
employed son and unemployed husband. She had no limiting health problems. Her
husband had had a good career but had been unemployed since being made redundant
several years earlier. He had had the possibility of work in London but they decided that
he had already spent too much time away from his family. Her father had died when she
was twelve and the family survived through their mother working part-time as a waitress
and 'food-wise, everybody looked after everybody else in the area'. Luckily they lived
rent-free thanks to the generosity of the local large employer. She had left grammar
school before the official school leaving age (then fourteen) after being bullied by a
teacher who mocked her for not having school uniform. She first went into nursing but
left when she married. After her first child was born she returned to nursing for a year
but when she became pregnant again, she found it too difficult to combine employment
with caring for her family so she decided to become a full-time housewife. Later she
worked as a shop assistant for about eighteen months but did not like it and 'went back
into the house', apart from occasional crèche work. Although now free to take a job she
felt that she would not be able to earn enough to compensate for the loss of benefits. In
any case,
I enjoy being able to do voluntary work, and up until now I haven't really needed
to work … though, like everybody else, you could do with money.

4.3.6 Case study eighteen

Anne (no. 14) was fifty-nine , living with her husband and two of their adult children. She
had long-term health problems, including mild epilepsy, which limited her daily activities.
She came from a poor working-class family and although she liked school she had not
done well. She had left school at seventeen but without qualifications and subsequently
obtained a range of qualifications as an adult, of which the highest was a Higher
National Diploma. Her first job was as a trainee nurse but she had to leave because of
her epilepsy, and then worked as a clerk until she was twenty-two, when her first child
was born. She spent several years looking after her children full time, but found it hard
to say because she did part-time work as a shop assistant at times: ‘I have always
looked after my own children, there were no nurseries provided for us.’ She had taken
an English Higher as an adult
to develop my knowledge and to give me confidence, knowing I had achieved
something and I would stand a better chance of getting employment.
She did not, however, get a job after completing the course, and said she would like to
take a degree.

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4.3.7 Case study nineteen
James (no. 86) was sixty-seven and was living with his wife on a fairly low income.
Both had retired. From a working-class background, he had left school at fourteen and
acquired some academic qualifications as an adult. Although he did not report any
current sickness or disability, he had been retired sick at the age of fifty-nine:
I retired seven years early. I left through sickness, I couldn’t do my work. I
worked in roofs at the time with glass, I was a glazier, so because of that it was
mutual agreement and I just left, I left early. They call it sickness retirement but it
means a mutual agreement to leave because you can’t do the work.
He had worked with the company for about forty years. He was spending his retirement
reading and learning:
I can intensely read for hours and hours and weeks and weeks and never get
tired. My health is better than it’s ever been and yet I’m coming to the end of my
life, so it’s a very strange paradox.

4.4 Staying on or returning despite illness – four case studies

Three (all women) reporting sickness/disability were working part-time or irregularly. All
three women worked principally for enjoyment and liked their jobs very much. Two, both
doctors, were able to continue with their original careers but in reduced roles, one in a
lower position and the other as a locum. Despite this change, both were happy to be
able to work. Both were very interested in adult education and attended a large number
of classes. Independent of their work they had high incomes, one from a pension and
the other through her husband. The third had changed career, from factory work to
working with children, a move that had been greatly helped by adult education. One (a
man) had left work through sickness but was now working again.

All were physically mobile and mentally active, and their illnesses were limiting rather
than disabling to the extent that they were unable to work. All very much enjoyed their
work. Nevertheless, all had had to make changes from their original careers in order to
continue working and all were working fewer hours and earning less than before. The
most difficult situation was that of the woman with long-term mental illness, as this kind
of disablement is stigmatised. She had found it very difficult to find paid work but had
finally succeeded, albeit for only a few hours a week. Adult education had been
important to all of them, either as a way of keeping mentally active and meeting other
people, or, in the case of the crèche worker, as a way of acquiring the necessary
qualifications. For the man it had done more: it had re-integrated him into the labour
market in a different, and very satisfying, career.

4.4.1 Case study twenty

Mary (no. 78) was fifty-seven. She lived with her husband, who was on invalidity benefit
after a thrombosis and two industrial accidents in social housing. She came from a
working-class family. She left school as soon as she could, despite the school
recommending her for college and her parents’ agreement, and worked as a full-time
machinist in a variety of factories, except for ten years when she was bringing up her
children. At this time, she said,
I used to feel guilty going oot ... It's a terrible thing, that, feeling guilty because
you do what you want.

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At the age of forty-two she had returned to education and over the next fourteen years
obtained certificates in childcare and training for trainers. She suffered from angina and
arthritis but found the latter more limiting. She was in receipt of invalidity benefit but had
returned to paid part-time crèche work after working as a volunteer for ten years. The
reasons she worked were for the company of other people and because she loved
‘working with kids’.

4.4.2 Case study twenty-one

Martha (no. 33) was fifty-five. She had a long-term mental illness and had also suffered
cancer and depression but had overcome these. She was able to work as long as she
avoided too much stress. She was from a middle-class family, attended private school
and then went to university where she qualified as a doctor. At the peak of her career
she was director of a clinic. Before and after her cancer she had carried out voluntary
work until she found her present job. This had proved very difficult, but she was now
working a few hours a week in medicine. She was in a position far below her
qualifications and experience, but loved her job:
Oh I love it, I absolutely love it, it's wonderful. Magnificent ... because the patient
is in crisis and there's no beating about the bush really, and they relate to you
very closely and you relate to them very closely. It's a very satisfying - you can
make it a very satisfying time for yourself ... I try to make them enjoy their visits,
and I usually manage to do that!
She worked principally because she enjoyed it but also because it gave her status. She
had not married and lived alone in a property that she owned outright. Her income was
high and included an occupational pension.

4.4.3 Case study twenty-two

Marion (no. 56) was also a doctor, aged fifty. She had acquired a disability which at
times made it difficult for her to use hands. This had made her depressed at one time.
She came from a middle-class family but with occasional financial difficulties. She was
sent on a scholarship to private school and then took a medical degree. She left full-
time work when she had her first child but had spent only a few months looking after her
children full time and had always taken part-time or sessional work as a doctor. For the
last nine years she had been working as a locum, which she enjoyed:
I like it all, yes - because I don't have the rubbish to do. I don't have any of the
administration - I can just see patients, which is, I think, people would love to do
that and not have to worry about the paperwork, counting the figures or ... I don't
get very much money for it - that's the downside! I would actually do it for
nothing, although I'm not telling them that!
Enjoyment of her work was her principal reason for working, though she also liked the
company of other people and felt that it enabled her to follow her career. She lived on a
high income with her husband, also a doctor, and two school-age children.

4.4.4 Case study twenty-three

Jack (no. 7) was sixty-three. From a poor working-class family, he had left school at
fourteen and took no school qualifications until he left work as a clerk at the age of fifty-
five following heart surgery. He had then taken Highers, a degree and a teaching
certificate, and was now following a second career as a teacher, which he greatly
enjoyed. He felt that adult education had given him

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 self-confidence leading to new contacts - greater scope in job search (…) It has
opened up new avenues and I no longer feel that age should be a restraint.
His main reason for working was to follow his career but he also enjoyed working and
the company of other people. He lived with his wife on a fairly good income.

4.5 Happy workers – five case studies

The case studies in this section are of people, in good health, who worked up to or
beyond SPA or who were below that age but, like those who were working despite
illness or disability, were happy in their work. All had acquired some kind of qualification
for their work, via initial or continuing education. Two had changed career in middle age.
By the time of interview, one man was already retired but had continued until SPA and a
retired woman had worked until well past the SPA, partly, but not entirely, from a sense
of duty. Both had worked full time up to retirement. Three were still working, principally
because they enjoyed work and the work environment. One of these was sixty-two, self-
employed and working full time, and the other was seventy, working a few hours a week
for his old employer. One woman was fifty-one and was working again, part time, after a
gap of many years.
All loved, or had loved their jobs, and only the man who retired at SPA had pressing
financial reasons for continuing to work in addition to enjoying the job. The two working
part time, however, would not have worked if their jobs were full time.

4.5.1 Case study twenty-four

Tom (no. 10) was seventy-eight, living with his wife. His family of origin was working-
class but both parents worked so they were not poor. He had attended a Senior
Secondary School until the age of seventeen but left before Highers to take up an
apprenticeship. He had ended up as assistant works manager and took qualifications in
supervisory management. His factory closed down when he was fifty-two, an age at
which many men are considered ‘unemployable’.
I applied to the National Savings, because they were recruiting at the time, and
before I had an interview there I was asked to go for an interview to the
Department of Employment, I presume because of the engineering record I had,
and the supervisory record.
Starting as a clerical officer as a Higher Executive Officer, he finally retired at the
compulsory retirement age of sixty-five.

4.5.2 Case study twenty-five

David (no. 38) was a self-employed professional aged sixty-two. He was married with
school-age children and had no health problems, although he had been ‘a sickly child’.
He was from a middle-class family, not rich but without financial problems and was still
living in the house that his father had had built. He had attended grammar school and
left with Highers. He first became an apprentice and subsequently took professional
qualifications and eventually had his own firm (without employees). He had income from
savings as well as from his work, his wife was also a professional and the household
income was high. He was continuing to work, partly to pay for basic essentials but
principally because he enjoyed it.

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4.5.3 Case study twenty-six
Paul (no. 29) was seventy and living with his wife, who was retired. Although he had
had health problems as a child he had none now. He was from a middle-class but not
wealthy family and through his mother’s efforts was able to stay at school until sixteen
and gained his GCE. He started work as a clerk and after some time took professional
qualifications which enabled him to gain a series of jobs of increasing status until his
last firm, where he stayed for almost twenty years. He officially retired at sixty-five but
was still working part time (five hours a week) for the same firm for a small honorarium.
The job I have now - I like it as an interest, it keeps me in touch with my former
world ... I do quite like it, there's no doubt about it ... if I hated it I'd simply go into
the boss and say I think you'd better get somebody else to do this.
His main reason for continuing working was to keep in touch with his former full-time
work; and he now combined work with non-vocational courses.

4.5.4 Case study twenty-seven

Frances (no. 66) was fifty-one , living with her husband and one dependent child in a
house they owned outright. Her father was a skilled man and her mother worked part
time so the family was not badly off. She had left school at fifteen without qualifications
and worked as a clerk until the first of her children was born. She had returned to work
in her mid-forties as a sessional tutor, after twenty-four years ‘in the house’. This had
unexpectedly arisen as a result of her taking community education courses:
They put me on the right road towards it, then I was trained through them, they
paid for it, community education ... for the training.
She was working on average two hours per week and she liked all aspects of her job.
Her main reason for working was enjoyment, but she also valued the company of other
people and earning a little money of her own:
It's quite nice to have some extra spending money at times ... But as I've never
wanted to go out to work, I mean, it's quite nice always having a wee bit extra …
and I’ve made a lot of friends through it.

4.5.5 Case study twenty-eight

Helen (no. 50) was a widow of seventy-six and now retired, living alone on a good
income; but she had worked full time in the health sector until she was sixty-nine. She
was from a middle-class but not rich background and had received a bursary for her
university medical studies. She had spent very little time away from work looking after
her four children full time, because she and her husband had been able to employ a full-
time housekeeper.
Well, one had to work, unless one had no conscience ... and I didn't really
receive any what you might call stated salary, but I'd to help out for at least three
months at the mine, what with alcoholism and so on, because my husband was
in charge of that district ...
Once the children were older she had worked full time. She still did a little work on a
voluntary basis. She had continued working out of enjoyment and not from economic
necessity.

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4.6 Struggling on? – five case studies
This title refers to people whose principal reasons for paid work were instrumental or
conditioned, and with enjoyment low in their list of reasons. Interviewees were given a
choice of reasons for continuing in paid work: working is the normal thing to do; work for
basic necessities; to earn money to buy extras; for money of my own; for the company
of other people; enjoy working; to follow my career; or any other reason. They were
asked to choose all the reasons which applied and then select the most important.
One, a graduate, was working in a responsible job in her husband’s business. She
earned very little of her own money for working long hours and liked part of her job, but
was generally suffering from low self-esteem and a lowering of confidence. She
enjoyed having a little money of her own but felt that she had to work, whatever the job
was, because this was what one did. The other three had left school at fifteen with no
qualifications. Their main reasons for working was to earn money for basic essentials.
Two had unemployed husbands, the third was divorced and responsible for a daughter.
They did not necessarily dislike their work but their reasons for working were mainly
instrumental - they worked because they had to, either because they felt they must or
because they needed the money.

4.6.1 Case study twenty-nine

Claire (no. 57) was fifty, living with her husband and one dependent child. She came
from ‘very decent’ working-class parents and her father had attended university and
obtained a good job which enabled them to move to a wealthy area. Claire had been
sent to private school and then took a degree. She worked until her first child was born.
When she had completed her family, her husband started up a business and she
became his employee, working from home and receiving a very low salary for 25-30
hours a week:
This of course was their tremendous opportunity to - get me stuck behind a
computer ... I get paid by them ... so I'm an employee ... my salary's so small I
don't pay tax.
This had been her job for the past ten years. When asked how she felt about her job,
she said: ‘I dislike parts of it! I hate some parts and I like other parts.’ Her main reason
for doing paid work was because ‘working is the normal thing to do’. She also liked
earning a little money of her own, enjoyed working in general (though not always in her
job) and in addition
because I don't think I would get through life very well unless I was under
pressure ... and if I wasn't under pressure I think I would just go to the dogs ...
because otherwise you'd have time to worry … So - that's what keeps you
healthy ... I think it does, because it forces you to do - I mean on days when you
don't feel too great, once you actually get started it's amazing how you just get on
with it, whereas if you were lying here peeling grapes you wouldn't - ... it also
gives structure to your life. It also gives you a self-respect.
Although she did not express dissatisfaction directly, towards the end of the interview
she said,
I think by the time you reach my age your self-esteem is so low that it can't get
much lower! I don't think any number of classes is going to improve it, is it?! ... I
think everybody has [low self-esteem]. I think the older you get - you always
imagine in your twenties by the time you're aged - well, I suppose you imagine

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 that at fifty you're not going to have anything really, so past it, you don't
appreciate that your confidence can decrease ...
Outside her work she did voluntary work as well as housework; nevertheless the
interviewer’s impression was that she was on the edge of depression.

4.6.2 Case study thirty

Rose (no. 42) was fifty-one and lived with her unemployed husband and daughter. She
had a chronic lung complaint but it did not stop her doing anything she wished to do.
Her father was from a middle-class family but had fallen on hard times and the family
had lived in poverty and suffered stigmatisation because of it. She left school without
qualifications at fifteen and took a series of semi-skilled jobs:
I've never been unemployed. Since I left school I've always worked ... I've had
hundreds of jobs!
She had spent twenty years working full time but was now working part time (twenty-
one hours) in a factory and earning more money than she had full time. She had hated
her present job at first but was quite enjoying it since she had gained confidence in the
task. Her income was not high but was adequate to meet her only reason for paid work,
namely to earn money for basic necessities. The work that gave her satisfaction was
her voluntary work.

4.6.3 Case study thirty-one

Alison (no. 32) was fifty-two, living with her unemployed husband (he had been made
redundant after twenty-five years in the same job when his company failed to win a
contract) and two non-dependent children in full-time education. She came from a
middle-class but not wealthy family and left school at fifteen without qualifications. She
began work straightaway as a financial secretary and subsequently acquired some
vocational qualifications. After time out to look after her children she had returned to the
same kind of job until made redundant. She had then gone round the agencies and now
had been working part time and on a low salary for the past few months in a call centre
and described her job as ‘okay - it was terribly tense to begin with, to put it mildly!’
Although one of her reasons for doing paid work was that she enjoyed working the
principal reason was to buy basic essentials. When asked if she was thinking of taking
up any further courses, she answered,
My challenge is surviving, I think, just now! … I'm just looking for a job and
someone pays me, that's all.

4.6.4 Case study thirty-two

Agnes (no. 30) was sixty, divorced and living with her daughter. Both were working full
time and they lived in a house tied to Agnes’ job. She came from a working-class family
and left school at fifteen without qualifications. Her first job was as a shop assistant. She
then went into nursing but did not complete her training because she married and
started a family. After that she returned to education and gained some school and
university qualifications. She had progressed more slowly than she wished because her
husband had refused to let her attend class more than one evening a week - so full-time
education was out of the question. She had been with her present employer for over ten
years and liked her job very much, although it could be stressful:
I like my job very much but I hate when they die ... that has got harder as time
has gone by ... I've got one lady in the home who's very very ill. It's breaking my
heart, but I think we're going to have to ask for her to be taken into hospital ... her

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 stepdaughter is beginning to crack, and although I'll do my best, I can't sit in her
flat all day. That's a real problem.
Her main reason for doing paid work was to earn money for basic essentials but she
also had needed a home for her daughter who was a small child when her marriage
broke up. She was now focusing on finding a home for when her job ended.

4.6.5 Case study thirty-three

Dougal (no. 53) was sixty-nine, widowed, and living alone and in good health on a
reasonably good income. He came from a fairly poor background and although he was
encouraged to do well at school it was normal to leave at the school leaving age and get
a job, eventually ending up in a large company. A few years before he was due to retire,
his firm was taken over and the employees, irrespective of age [which is unusual], were
obliged to participate in a lot of courses. Staying in the job depended on accepting the
training. For Dougal, however, it added little to his knowledge and in addition it was a
burden:
I'd seen an awful lot of it before ... because my wife was ill, when I was away on
a course I was worried all the time.
Furthermore, he felt that ‘training had a negative effect on friendship - too busy getting
ahead’. He had worked until he was sixty-five, for financial reasons, and shortly after
that his wife died before they could enjoy much leisure time together. He decided to
attend liberal education classes since ‘I suddenly have a very very slow life’ and, for the
first time, he was able to choose what he learnt: ‘the most enjoyable of all is learning
just to suit yourself’.

5 Examples of good practice

There is an increasing number of employers realising that there is a good business case
for hiring older workers, and the examples here are only a few of many. The first of
these supports both employers and older workers.
1. Glasgow has instituted a 50+ Job Rotation scheme, funded by the European Social
Fund and run by Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde University. This is aimed at
small businesses in the private and voluntary sectors and the goals are to increase
the skills and confidence of existing older workers, help retain them and give older
unemployed workers and returners work experience. First a training needs
assessment and training plan are developed with the company, and mentoring is
also provided. Next a Job Rotation Trainee, aged 50+ and previously unemployed or
a labour market returner, undergoes relevant vocational training and a personal
development programme. Finally, in return for releasing a minimum of four members
of staff aged 50+ for training provided free by the scheme, the firm takes on the
Trainee for a minimum six-month contract of at least 25 hours at the going rate for
the job. The job must be additional to the existing workforce. A £50 per week wage
subsidy is also provided under the scheme. The kinds of training provided to
employees and trainees includes IT, customer service, key skills and personal
development (50+ Challenge).
2. Employers such as the Nationwide Building Society and Marks and Spencer have
ended the mandatory retirement age.

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3. HBoS (Halifax/Bank of Scotland) has a flexible approach to retirement: people can
take career breaks and opt to work beyond retirement age (though the take-up for
the latter is very low so far).
4. A Scottish food production company with over 100 employees had better fortune in
retaining its workers. Older workers are offered year-on-year extensions beyond the
SPA, doing either the same or a different job according to preference. The company
now has three employers aged 70+ (information at the ‘Recruitment, Retention and
Retirement: age diversity in employment’ seminar, Strathclyde University, 20 May
2003).
5. Sage Ltd, Kent and Medway, with 3,000 employees, ensures that all staff and not
just younger members have access to personal development planning (Ford et al.
2003).
6. Peckham and Rye, a Glasgow-based small chain of delicatessens, found that there
was a high turnover amongst young workers starting their jobs with low-paid, low-
skilled warehouse work. Supported by funding from Scottish Enterprise Glasgow,
they recruited older unemployed people who, it was thought, would have the
patience to stay long enough to acquire knowledge and skills, and offered jobs with
training to NVQ2 in warehousing. Staff turnover has declined significantly and the
work teams, which now include a good number of people aged 40+, are working
more efficiently and are happy to take up further training opportunities (Brown 2000).
7. An employee of nearly forty years’ standing of a music shop in Glasgow became ill.
In order to retain his skills and experience the manager consulted him and the
employee chose to reduce his hours to a manageable level. This is working well and
he hopes to return gradually to full-time work (Fair Play n. d.).
8. New Deal 50 Plus is a state initiative to help older people into work through
enhancing their employability. To be eligible, a person must be aged 50 or over and
have been receiving any one or more of certain benefits for at least 6 months
(details are available on the web at
www.newdeal.gov.uk/newdeal.asp?DealID=50PLU). Those who join the programme
get their own New Deal personal adviser whose job is to get to know them and the
kind of work they would like to do; assist in drawing up an action plan, jobsearch, the
preparation of cvs and applications, and organising training or voluntary work; and
offer ongoing support and reassurance. Those who obtain work for over 16 hours a
week can apply for the Working Tax Credit at a higher than usual rate for the first 52
weeks in employment. It is also possible to apply for an in-work Training Grant of up
to £1,500 on obtaining a job through New Deal 50 plus. It is claimed that 'thousands
of people' have been helped back into work through this programme
(www.agepositive.gov.uk/newdeal.cfm?sectionid=78).

109
Conclusions: older people in the Glasgow City labour market
The quantitative data shows that people aged 50 and above in the United Kingdom are
less likely than average to be unemployed, although those who are have a much higher
chance of becoming long-term unemployed, and some ‘disappear’ off the
unemployment register, even though a certain proportion state that they still wish to
work. Currently more problematic than unemployment is the fall in earnings from well
before retirement, which has negative effects on savings and pensions. This affects
both men and women, full-time and part-time, manual and non-manual, but women’s
pay on average declines before that of men. The data on hours worked shows little sign
of work-life balance improving with age.
Glasgow differs from the United Kingdom and even from the rest of Scotland in certain
respects, and there is evidence of a split personality: higher earnings and shorter hours
(for some) but higher unemployment and more economic inactivity; more highly-
qualified people and more people without any qualifications. People aged 50 + are less
than 50 per cent likely to be in the labour market; they are more likely than average to
work part-time, which may suggest attempt at a more congenial work-life balance, or
may arise from greater availability of part-time work;
There is a high rate of disability; and people aged 50 and above make up a significant
proportion of those without qualifications, who in turn are more likely to be working
class. It is, therefore, difficult to disentangle age from disability and class when
researching older age discrimination.

110
Bibliography: Age discrimination in the United Kingdom
labour market
Age Concern Policy Unit (2004), The Economy and Older People, London: Age
Concern England

Allport, G. W. (1979), The Nature of Prejudice, Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books

British Household Panel Study 1998, ESRC Research Centre for Micro-Social Change,
(www.sosig.ac.uk)

Brown, R. (2000), Getting Old and Grey? Glasgow and Inverness: Futureskills Scotland,
Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise

CBI (2001), Employment Trends Survey. London: Confederation of British Industry.

Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs (2003), Employment in Europe

2003: Recent Trends and Prospects

Employers’ Forum on Age, www.efa.org.uk

European Commission (2004), Press release, P/04/295, Brussels, 3 March 2004

Fair Play (n. d.), Take the Time for a Work-Life Strategy, Glasgow: Fair Play
(www.fairplayscotland.com)

Ford, G. (1996), Career Guidance for the Third Age: mapping exercise and issues.
Cambridge: CRAC/NICEC

Ford, G., Watkins, B., Bosley, S., Hawthorn, R., McGowan, B. and Grattan, P. (2003),
Challenging Age: information, advice and guidance for older age groups, Sheffield:
Department for Education and Skills

General Household Survey 1997, Office for National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk)

Harrop, A. (2004), The Economy and Older People, Age Concern England, Report
Health Statistics Quarterly, Spring 2001, Office for National Statistics
(www.statistics.gov.uk)

Hirsch, D. (2003), ‘Crossroads after 50’, Foundations: analysis informing change

December 2003, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Humphrey, A., Costigan, P., Pickering, K., Stratford, N. and Barnes, M. (2003), Factors
Affecting the Labour Market Participation of Older Workers, DWP Research Report 200

Labour Force Survey 2002, Office for National Statistics (www.nomisweb.co.uk)

Labour Force Survey October-December 2003, Office for National Statistics

(www.nomisweb.co.uk)

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Labour Market Trends January 2002, Office for National Statistics
(www.statistics.gov.uk)

Local Area Labour Force Survey 2000, Office for National Statistics,
(www.statistics.gov.uk/llfs)

McKay, S. & Middleton, S. (1998), Characteristics of older workers, DfEE

McKay, S. and Smeaton, D. (2003), Working After State Pension Age: quantitative
analysis, Sheffield: Department for Work and Pensions

Moss, N. and Arrowsmith, J., (2003), A Review of ‘What Works’ for Clients Aged Over
50’, Department for Work and Pensions Publication

New Earnings Survey 2001, Office for National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk)

Office for National Statistics (n. d.), Focus on Older People
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=882, accessed 13/10/04)

Office for National Statistics, Labour Market Statistics, Scotland, July 2002
(www.nomisweb.co.uk)

Office for National Statistics, ‘Chapter 2, UK Summary: analysis by Local Authority

District’, Local Labour Force Survey 2000-1,
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/llfs_chapter2.pdf)

OECD (2003), Overviews of Career Guidance and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap
(www.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/55/29888148.pdf)

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(accessed 13/10/2004).

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112
 Appendix 1 : Shortened version of Interview schedule used in the Learning
Outcomes Project of the University of Glasgow

Classification details

Source:
Religious denomination where known:
003 Address/Postcode:
004 Sex: 005 Date of birth: Age last birthday:
006 Age-group:
007 Marital status:
008 If married, for how long? 009 Family composition
010 Do you have any children? 011 If yes, how many aged under 18 in household?
012 Household profile: everyone who stays in the house at present, whether family or
not

Relationship Sex Age last Marital status Working status

to informant birthday
M F S M W D Sep Co- f/t p/t un ret f/t ed pre-
hab school
Informant

013 How do you and your household occupy your accommodation?

014/015 Long-term health problem which limits your daily activities or work? If so, what?
016 Ethnic group:

Childhood and Youth Education

017 Where were you born?
018 Where did you spend your childhood?
019 Did any brothers and sisters live with you during your childhood?
020 If so, how many? 021 How many were: (1) older brothers (2) younger brothers (3)
older sisters; (4) younger sisters (5) twin
022/3 Childhood illnesses which affected your schooling? If so, what?
024/5 Parental absence during childhood? If so, why?
026 Main occupation of father/guardian during your childhood
027/028 Did your mother do (paid) work during your childhood? If so, what?
113
029 Family’s general financial situation during your childhood (housing type; area;
neighbours; relatives)
030 Parents’ educational background (type of schools, age left, qualifications) and
general attitude concerning your own education (encouraging? Visit the school?)
031/032 Anyone or anything that had a significant influence on your attitude to
education as a child? If so, what?
033 Age at which continuous education (at school or college) ended:
034 Did you stay after the school leaving age?
035 Type of school you last attended:
036/037/038 Did you like or dislike school, or have mixed feelings? Reasons for answer
039/40 Did you gain qualifications at school and if so what?
041 Other qualifications gained since leaving school
042/3 Does your husband/wife/partner have any qualifications from school? If so, what?
044/5 Does your husband/wife/partner have any qualifications since leaving school? If
so, what?

Employment, unemployment, training

046 At about what age did you stop living with parents/guardian?
047 Your life after you left the parental home:
048/049/050 At the moment are you of working age - employed full-time, part-time;
seeking work; incapacitated; keeping house; studying full-time, retired etc ? If not
currently employed, when did you last work?
051 If working, how long have you been working for your present employer or self-
employed?
052 What is your job title?
053 What are the main things you do in your present job?
054 Do you like/dislike all/parts of your job?
055 How many hours a week do you usually work on your present job, excluding
mealbreaks and overtime?
056/7 Do you ever do paid overtime? If so, how often?
058 What is your current net weekly income, including benefits in cash and kind?
059 Which of the following best describe your reasons for doing paid work at present:
(1) Working is the normal thing to do (2) Need money for basic essentials (food,
rent/mortgage) (3) To earn money to buy extras (4) To earn money of my own (5)

114
For the company of other people (6) Enjoy working (7) To follow my career (8) Other
(explain)
Which of these is the main reason?
060/2 Have you been given any formal training by your present employer in how you do
your present job? If so, what kind of course was it and how long did it last?
063/4 Has your present employer given you any (other) training in how to do your
present job? If so, what?
065 Are there any opportunities for you to have further training with your present
employer: (1) the job you’re doing now (2) jobs requiring new skills (3) jobs at a
higher level than your present job?
066 Thinking about training generally, not just in your present job, would you like to
have any further training or not? 067 For: (1) the job you’re doing now (2) jobs
requiring new skills (3) jobs at a higher level than your present job?
068 What did you do when you first started work?
069 What has been your main job during your working life?
070 What other jobs have you had during your working life?
071 Brief details of partner’s work history
072/3 If applicable, have you spent any time away from work looking after your children
full-time? If so, how long?

Participation in adult education/training

074/5 If you have participated in more than just the course about which you are being
interviewed, please describe all these courses.
076 Which educational and training providers have you used?
077 When did the course on which you are being interviewed take place? (day, evening,
etc.)
078 How did you find out about this course?
079 When you started this course, what was your work status?
080 Was the course applicable to your work?
081 Reasons for participation:
082 What were you looking for when you started the course, and did you find it?
083 What was your family/partner’s attitude to you doing the course?
084 What problems did you find when studying?
085 What particular things did you find enjoyable about the course?
086/087 Did you get a qualification at the end of the course? If so, what?
115
088/089 Was there anyone or anything that you feel has had a significant influence on
your attitude to education as an adult? If so, who?
090/091 After they left school or ended continuous education, did any other members of
your family participate in any adult education? If so which, what age where they and
where did they study?

Outcomes from participation

092/3 Has your attitude to learning changed as a result of your returning to
education/training? If so, how?
094 Apart from television and radio, what are your main leisure pursuits and interests at
present?
095/6 Have these leisure pursuits changed since you returned to education/training? If
so, how if at all are these change related to your return to learning?
097 How often do you: (1) visit the public library; (2) go to the cinema; (3) go to the
theatre; (4) go to a concert; (5) go to a sports event; (6) go to church/place of worship
098/099 Have you ever been a member of a community group / organisation / club as
an adult? If so when and what?
100/110 Have you joined any community groups / organisations / clubs since returning
to education / training as an adult? If so, which?
102/103 Are you taking any educational / training courses at present? If so, what?
104/105 Are you trying to learn anything else at the moment (on your own, with friends
etc) in an informal way? If so, what?
106/107/108 Are you thinking of taking any educational or training courses at some time
in the future? If so, what? And have you made any definite plans to start a course?
109/110 Since returning to education / training has your relationship with your
partner/children/family changed in any way? If so, how?
111/112 Has your involvement in adult education / training had any effect on your
friendships? If so, how?
113/114 Did you start a job after participating on a course? If so, did your return to
education / training a) help you get this job b) improve your performance in your
present post?
115 Given your own experience, what advice would you give to someone thinking about
starting an adult education course?
116 Can you describe what your involvement in adult education has meant to you?
117 Can you describe any negative aspects of returning to education as an adult?
116
118 Finally, has your involvement in adult education affected the way you think about
yourself and the future?

117