Olly Newton appointed specialist adviser to Lords Committee on Youth Unemployment

@ukEdgePolicy appointed specialist adviser to Lords Committee on Youth Unemployment

Edge’s Executive Director Olly Newton has been appointed as a Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Youth Unemployment.

Olly will provide briefings for the Committee, advise members on their questions and material for evidence sessions, and support the drafting of their reports where needed. Olly will also be advising on wider engagement activities, including with young people, whose views are particularly important to the Committee.

The House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee was appointed in January 2021 to consider youth unemployment, education and skills for 16-to-24 year-olds in England. It is chaired by Lord Shipley and is due to report by the end of November 2021.

The Committee will consider what measures should be taken to protect and create jobs for young people. It will also examine how the labour market for young people may change due to current events such as COVID-19, Brexit, and technological developments in the longer term. 

Because the committee is looking at youth unemployment through the lens of preparation for work, a key question will be whether the current education system is properly preparing young people and, if not, how it should change. That brings almost all of Edge’s work into scope.

Olly said: “There is no greater issue facing the country at the moment than addressing the challenge of youth unemployment in the wake of Covid. However, as Edge’s research has shown, long before the pandemic there were problems with skills shortages in the economy.” 

“That underpins Edge’s central mission – making education more relevant to prepare young people with the skills and attributes they need to succeed in their life and work. 

“The Committee will be crucial in understanding the current situation and making recommendations for the future. I am delighted to have been asked to support their work and look forward to helping them to gather and assess the evidence in this vital area.”