'The Lost Generation'

So yesterday it all kicked off in parliament. Not only was there a big brouhaha over Europe, David Cameron's veto, and the possibility of tensions in the coalitian, but Ed Miliband accused David Cameron of betraying a generation of young people as unemployment figures again sky-rocket.

Unemployment in in the UK in general is at its highest since 1994 hitting a whopping 2.64 million, 128,000 more than three months ago. Youth unemployment has broken the 1 million mark and there are all sorts of other statistics to make news companies salivate at the prospect of some really depressing headlines.

In all, however, if we actually take time to read the whole report then we would probably be surprised that the changes in the three-month period were minimal - fractions of a percent. As per usual there is a lot of media hype and scaremongering over nothing, but if Fiona Bruce didn't have anything to be concerned about, we'd be subject to her cheesy grin.

Anyway... Enough of my scepticism about the industry I'm trying to get a job in...

The figures are bleak; so there may have been little change, but the fact the figures are hitting those dizzy heights in the first place is the major point of concern. Unemployment in the UK stands at 8.3%; in Germany their unemployment rate is much lower at 6.5%. In fact Germany is doing quite well compared to Britain. Their economy is on the up and  unemployment is coming down. Part of this is to do with young people going into apprenticeships and getting a step up to a career in skilled labour. The UK got rid of a lot of its manufacturing so we can't offer the same to our young and jobless.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel. Morrisons have announced that they will be creating 7,000 jobs. Brilliant! At last someone is willing to invest in young people (who will no doubt end up in most of those positions). All we need now is for more companies to do that - to be ready to train up the young gadabouts and give them the responsibility of a proper job.

Companies that make billions in profit should be at the forefront of schemes like this. In the interests of expansion, why not take a chance with some conscientious young folk. That will in turn take the pressure off the government as far as the dole is concerned, and suddenly the deficit is reduced, and we're giving Germany a run for its money...