Youth Unemployment and State Intervention

In the early 1980s, Britain's youth unemployment was a significant concern, leading to fears of resource waste and demoralization. This volume of essays explores the state's response to youth unemployment, including the definition, creation, and relationship with the education sector, trade unions, and young people's responses. It assesses the further education elements of special measures and highlights the inappropriate nature of temporary solutions to a long-term problem.

Format: Hardback
Length: 154 pages
Publication date: 19 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In the early 1980s, Britain faced a severe crisis of chronic unemployment, particularly affecting young people. Concerns arose about the waste of national resources and the demoralization of the youth, which could lead to anti-social behavior. This situation echoed the anxieties of the 1930s.

This volume of essays, originally published in 1982, explores the pattern of state response to youth unemployment that had evolved in the interwar and post-war periods. The contributors discuss various themes related to the problem, including its definition and creation as a "moral panic," the recurrence of rhetoric and policies from pre-war interventions, the relationship between youth unemployment measures and the education sector, the responses of trade unions, and the reactions of young people to special programs.

A critical assessment is made of the further education elements in these special measures, particularly regarding the need for "social and life skills training" for young people. The book charts the changing nature of the state response to youth unemployment since 1974, emphasizing the inappropriate nature of temporary amelioration of a long-term, even permanent, problem.

The essays in this volume provide valuable insights into the historical and contemporary challenges faced by young people in Britain, shedding light on the complex factors contributing to youth unemployment and the inadequate responses of the state. It serves as a reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive and sustainable solutions to address this pressing issue.

Weight: 440g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032312057