MBS Inspiration
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The MBS Group
is one of the world’s leading executive search firms operating exclusively in Retail, Consumer and relevant technologies, and the most successful sector-specialist firm in the UK
A helping hand
I really don’t want to depress you, but the simple fact is that unemployment in the UK has risen to 2.68 million, with almost half that number being 16-24 year-old school and university leavers who have received little guidance on how or where to find work. The stark reality faced by young people today was the backdrop to a dinner my son, David, attended this week, led by one of this country’s most successful and socially aware entrepreneurs. David and 10 other youngsters discussed the difficulties of finding work and the role business can play in helping them do so. Here are some of his thoughts:
“Worryingly, half the people at the dinner were out of work, and not by choice. A well-spoken, seemingly happy-go-lucky twenty-four year-old shared the hopelessness and isolation he felt from the mainstream economy and the political process. Indeed, it is well-qualified young people who have felt unemployment most keenly. The London riots of July 2011 were a visible backlash, however unwarranted, against the status quo. And, while young people’s lives are being transformed by technology, Twitter and Facebook alone cannot arm today’s youth with the technical or life skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace. This is where our conversation turned to the responsibility of big business to give young people a helping hand.
One thing I found fascinating was the group’s negative perception of almost all large, multinational companies. It was also interesting to see how we associated ‘cool’ companies such as Apple as the most morally upstanding. That was until the entrepreneur leading the discussion said that one big company, McDonald’s, is this year creating 2,500 new jobs in the UK. Of those, more than half are new jobs for young people and over 30% are going to first-time employees. David Cameron has recently praised McDonald’s for being a great example of a company leading the way in staff training and ground-breaking apprenticeship programmes. And the system clearly works, with many rising internally from the ‘shop floor’ to the ‘top floor’, forging life-long, highly successful careers. Clearly, companies like McDonald’s, that invest valuable time and resources into developing young people with little or no work experience, are what we all need.
Back in the discussion, we all said that we hadn’t been receiving this sort of support from the government, or from any of the cool companies some of us have worked for. We also agreed that, whilst companies such as McDonald’s need to keep being socially responsible regarding the food and drink they offer, they should be recognised far more for the excellent work they do to alleviate youth unemployment. What better way of creating customers for life?”
Please let me know what your company is doing to give young people a helping hand: moira@thembsgroup.co.uk.
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