Under 25s hit hardest by employment drop – but employers will feel the longer term impact

With the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing that employment prospects of the younger generations have been hardest hit, AMS (formerly Alexander Mann Solutions), a global provider of talent outsourcing and advisory services, has warned that employers will feel the longer-term impact if they don’t invest in early careers talent now.



Statistics released by the ONS today revealed that under 25s contributed to over 60% of the fall in the number of payroll employees since February 2020.



As Paul Modley, Global Talent Acquisition Director and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at AMS, explained, the longer-term effects of this could be damaging to businesses;



“We’ve known for some time that young people have been extremely hard hit professionally by Covid-19, but these figures really do highlight just how difficult it has been. It’s been understandably tough for employers as budget restrictions and uncertainty gripped global markets, but for those firms with a UK base, this decline in employment and development opportunities for emerging talent will leave many companies playing catch-up with skills development later on.



“It is critically important that we invest in the future generation of the workforce as soon as possible, otherwise businesses and markets will be slow to recover and once again reach their full potential. The development of early talent is an important component to developing a sustainable workforce. In fact, we saw this play out after the 2008/9 financial crash, with employers reducing junior talent recruitment, only to be faced with skills shortages just a year later.



“There are a number of ways that firms can contribute to the development of future talent. At AMS, for example, we’ve recently welcomed 19 individuals onto our Trainee Recruiter Programme, providing them with an eight-week tailored training course that has been developed to be delivered in a remote environment, alongside a 13-month apprenticeship programme. During the training, the new recruits will have real on-the-job training, diving straight into the role they will be delivering once the training period ends. And this is just the first stage of our planned campaign to create between 70 and 80 entry level positions across various global locations this year to provide emerging talent with new career prospects and nurture the future generation of recruiters.



“AMS has also developed a strategic partnership with Revature, a leading technology talent development company, to help employers expand the skills of new and existing talent, enabling organisations to better compete in the future of work.





“Now is the time for employers to begin planning for real recovery – and the emerging generation will have a huge roll to play in this. Businesses need to ensure they are investing in the skills development of the future, or we will see a significant shortage in the not-too-distant future.”





ENDS



Contact:



PR agency contact details.



Vickie Collinge

vickie@bluesky-pr.com

01582 790705



About AMS



We are AMS. AMS is a global total workforce solutions firm founded in 1996. We enable organisations to thrive in an age of constant change by building, reshaping, and optimising workforces. We do this through talent acquisition and contingent workforce management, internal mobility and skills development, and talent and technology advisory services.



Our solutions are delivered by our 4500+ experts who live our passionate, bold and authentic values. Last year we placed 180,000 permanent hires and managed 26,000 contingent workers for our 180 outsourcing clients. And we advised many more organisations as trusted partners to help meet their talent objectives. The ultimate aim is to help our clients around the world, in over 90 countries, create workforces that are fluid, resilient, diverse and differentiated.



We call this True Workforce Dexterity—and we’re here to help you achieve it.