Two out of three businesses have no direct access for young people to gain employment according to research. Contributor Chris Tarry, Founder – Access Generation.
Two-hundred company websites were externally assessed based on young people’s expectations of applying for jobs for the youth employment accessibility research project. The research was designed by young people and delivered by young people. The community interest company, Access Generation, partnered with the Prince’s Trust initiative, Talent Match Leicester. The research was created following workshops with young people at De Montfort University, Loughborough University and the following youth initiatives; Talent Match Leicester, and Twenty Twenty.
After learning about the barriers to online job applications that young people face and understanding their criteria for choosing an employer the assessment was created to mark three main areas; the candidate journey, the supportive content and employer brand. Nearly half of businesses assessed had a very poor or no job section on the website at all. And four out of five businesses failed to promote themselves as an employer. Chris Tarry, founder of Access Generation, said: “It was clear from the research that businesses promote their goods and services online but there is a lack of focus on promoting themselves as an employer.
“If companies want to have a competitive edge in a tightening jobs market they should seek to find out what it would take to attract candidates. The best companies recognise that inexperienced young people need to be supported to make a good application rather than apply the hurdles and obstacles used to test or filter out experienced candidates. We believe that if a company wants to successfully attract young people then they need to consider the candidate as a customer.”
