Summer jobs drought hitting young people in Lincolnshire

In Woodhall Spa, business owner Tracy Walters has another view.

She co-owns Sweet Emporium where she is busy serving customers sweets and ice creams in the hot weather.

She says she is not considering hiring any young people to help her behind the counter “because of the cost”, but also because, in her experience, “they’re too unreliable”.

“They have boyfriend problems and other problems. Sometimes they don’t turn up on time and it’s hard to get rid of them if they’re unreliable,” she said.

Earlier this year, a government review by former minister Alan Milburn, external found one in eight young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training.

“We are at risk of a lost generation,” he warned.

Victoria Atkins, Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, says she blames “the increase in taxes on businesses”.

“I find it heartbreaking that businesses cannot afford to give young people the chances and opportunities we took for granted 10 and 15 years ago,” she said.

The government vowed to act on the findings of Milburn’s report and the Department for Work and Pensions said job vacancies “continue to grow, with active job postings up 9.2% in June and up 11.4% year-on-year”.

It added: “Businesses already receive significant tax breaks for hiring young people through the National Insurance exemption for under-21s, and our £2.5bn youth employment package will support almost one million young people into work.”

Back in Skegness, Dave Charles says he will continue to hire young people and that “if you recruit the right young people they are great”.

But he is concerned for those missing out.

“We’ve all been that age and people should get a chance and, in their formative years, their start into the workplace should be a really good experience and that is what we try to create,” he said.

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