More than 125 bosses, peers and academics have written to Rachel Reeves in a stark warning over the ‘scandal’ of nearly a million young people at risk of being a wasted generation.
Official figures show there is an army of NEETs – people aged 16-24 who are not in employment, education or training.
The letter, to be delivered to the Chancellor today, says that without urgent action, huge numbers are destined ‘for the scrapheap.’ It has been co-ordinated by Christopher Nieper, boss of the David Nieper fashion business, along with the Jobs Foundation charity.
Signatories include JCB chief Lord Bamford, City tycoon Lord Spencer, property mogul Jamie Ritblat, grocery entrepreneur Sean Ramsden and venture capitalist Jon Moulton.
Warning: The letter to the Chancellor has been co-ordinated by Christopher Nieper (pictured)
Toyota UK and the Rigby Group, Europe’s largest private IT services company, are also among the signatories urging a skills tax relief to incentivise firms to train young people, which they say would benefit the Exchequer and boost less prosperous areas.
Nieper, who has rescued a failing school in Derbyshire which claims that it helped all 18-year-old pupils secure a job or further education, said: ‘The cost of the NEETs crisis to the economy is unsustainable – not just in welfare payments but in lost productivity, unfulfilled potential and long-term damage caused by early unemployment.’
He has proposed a tax break for employers and says modelling shows that if the number of NEETs is halved, the Exchequer would gain up to £23billion.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
InvestEngine
InvestEngine
Account and trading fee-free ETF investing
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free share dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .