Even though today’s ONS Labour Statistics show that UK unemployment has gone down, youth unemployment is still a crisis, City & Guilds warned today.

It’s concerned that not enough is being done to help young people gain the skills they need to secure lasting employment. It is calling on Government, employers and educators to work together to build bridges between employment and education. Commenting on the unemployment figures, Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group said: “Of course it’s great news that today’s figures show that more people overall are employed in the UK, but we can’t forget about the 853,000 young people who are still without work. Although the number has gone down, it is still far too high.

“We know that many of these young people just want to get a foot on the career ladder, sending out hundreds of CVs without success. This can be soul-destroying, and of course the young unemployed often go on to become the long-term unemployed. That’s bad for them and for our economy.”

“So why then, are so many job vacancies going unfilled because employers can’t find anyone with the right skills? The solution is obvious, we have to make sure that young people are getting the skills that businesses need. But that can only happen when employers, educators and Government work together to provide young people with access to the right skills, education and genuinely relevant careers advice.”