Mental health of ‘Generation z’ at risk as pandemic cuts job prospects

It’s easy to understand then that an Ulster University study has highlighted that young people will take the economic hit for a disease that has largely affected the older generation.

It says the youth unemployment rate in Northern Ireland is expected to soar from eight to 26 per cent in 2020.

There are fears that ‘Generation Z’, arriving into a jobs market that is vastly compromised by Covid, will be permanently scarred by the effects of unemployment and its well documented deleterious impact on mental health and wellbeing.

“With the number of vacancies collapsing and high numbers of jobs in the existing labour market at risk, such a large number of young people entering the search for work will put upward pressure on the youth unemployment rate,” the study compiled by economic policy centre researchers Mark Magill and Marguerite McPeake said.

“It risks long-term scarring effects on the labour market prospects of an entire cohort of education leavers.”

The study, which was based on analysis of official labour market data, recommended that a set of measures be targeted at young people.

These include uncapping undergraduate numbers to keep more young people in education and offering a job or training guarantee for all young people unemployed for at least three months.

The study acknowledged that these policies would be expensive but “given the extent of the risk to young people being trapped in a period of worklessness and the associated scarring effect over the course of a person’s working life, the long-term benefits may well outweigh the costs”.

The Prince’s Trust, a charity which helps young people develop the skills and confidence to enter the workforce through a series of programmes, workshops, and one-to-one mentoring sessions, has also voiced its concerns about the ways employment opportunities for young people have been diminished by the pandemic.

Research it released this week emphasises the link between youth unemployment and poor mental health and warns of the long-term damage unemployment could have on young people’s wellbeing.

The Prince’s Trust Youth Index is a national survey that gauges young people’s happiness and confidence across a range of areas from work and education to emotional health.

It shows that the experience and overall wellbeing of NEET young people (those not in employment, training or education) is considerably more negative than those in jobs or pursuing education. The data also suggests that longer term unemployed young people may have an even more negative experience.

This year’s report, based on a survey of 16 to 25-year-olds, found that even before the coronavirus pandemic the overall wellbeing of young people in this country had dropped to its lowest ever level in the study’s 11-year history with increasing pressures to lead an Instagram-ready, well-funded and successful lifestyle, causing massive insecurity and psychological distress.

Mark Dougan, Northern Ireland Director at The Prince’s Trust, fears that the legacy of Covid could be much worse for this age group than those who entered the job market during the 2008 recession.

“I worry we are at the cliff edge of a huge time of crisis for young people, the likes of which we have never seen before,” he said. “Young people are already at the sharp end of losing their jobs because they are often employed in hospitality and tourism for example where hundreds if not thousands of jobs are being lost overnight.

“The concern is that with widespread unemployment this age group is at such an enhanced risk of mental health problems. This can cause long-term scarring and diminish future employment opportunities.

“A situation of hopelessness can set in when you are unemployed. Sometimes job opportunities in a given area are now so scarce that many young people may have to return to education or retrain, which causes financial and other stresses.

“Job hunting can really knock a young person’s confidence. Their sense of self-worth is also at stake.

“As an organisation we are dedicated to giving young people confidence and hope for the future,”

Prior to Covid, the Trust offered employability and wellbeing course, either on a one-to-one basis or in small groups; these have now gone online.

Dougan continues:”Young people who find themselves with little or no qualifications on leaving school or who are coming from a care background, are now coming onto the same job market as those who have third level education under their belt. The playing field is very uneven and there is a danger that a lot of young people will be left behind.

“This is where the Prince’s Trust, alongside government, policy makers and employers need to work together to introduce young people to the world of work.

“We need to help this new generation find work and to create opportunities for them because otherwise we could still be seeing consequences in over ten years time.

“We cannot afford to leave this demographic behind. Young people are our future after all.”

Steven Jones, 28, from Bangor, was forced to give up his job as a healthcare worker at the beginning of lockdown because of the risk of infection from a care setting to his baby daughter Ava, born with cystic fibrosis. He found the experience of being unemployed ‘devastating’ and a massive challenge to his self-confidence. Suddenly, after nine years working full time, he found himself unemployed.

“I was a community care worker so I would have gone round visiting the elderly to help them get up, washed and dressed, and preparing their food.

“Since I became unemployed it’s just been horrendous. Going from having a steady routine, getting up every morning, getting out to work. It gave me routine. It gave be something to do. It gave me purpose. Now I’ve got nothing. It takes a heavy psychological toll. I try to keep a routine to my days but it’s hard.

“It’s such a struggle for young people finding jobs because they want you to have experience, but you can’t get experience unless someone gives you a job. I tried Tesco before but they wouldn’t take me on because I didn’t have any experience. It’s frustrating.

“I have now decided to go back to college and study hairdressing.”

Steven said it was thanks to the Trust he was able to find the confidence to enter the workforce.

“The Prince’s Trust first helped me ten years ago when I did their teen programme. I was quite shy, timid, I sat at home all day every day, and I had no aspirations to work. But that all changed when I did the Prince’s Trust teen programme. It’s all about improving your employability, team work, dedication, confidence. Taking the course was one of the best things I ever did. It really brought me out of my shell and I quickly went on to volunteer for St John Ambulance, then my first job in healthcare. I would not have the same confidence in my employability or feel hopeful about training for my future as a hairdresser if it weren’t for The Prince’s Trust.”

Founded by The Prince of Wales in 1976, the charity supports 11 to 30-year-olds who are unemployed, struggling at school and at risk of exclusion..

As part of its response to the coronavirus crisis, The Trust has launched a ‘Get Hired Jobs Board’, which has hundreds of live jobs across a range of different sectors, to match employers with young people who are ready to work now.

Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. For more, see princes-trust.org.uk.