Strategic response to economic crisis facing those leaving education needed

Slugger O'Toole

One of the key reasons for having the Reset project in a space like Slugger is to look behind the headlines and try to assay the effects of the Covid emergency, not just in health, but in other key areas of life. As we prepare for a second wave, the effects on those leaving education are acute.

So this week I spoke to Professor of Education Tony Gallagher, to get his take on what that means in practice...

In it we cover...

• After 2008 young people who left education in the year of the crash are still faring worse than either the class ahead or the one after. A recent survey shows that a third of nongraduates and a 1/5 of graduates commonly find jobs in areas most directly affected the Covid lockdown.
• This huge economic risk being shouldered by young people contrasts enormously with how the most serious health risks lie with older people. As such, there is a risk of polarisation as the mediation to protect public health pushes intolerable burdens on those leaving school.
• Not all young people will be hit equally, poorer education leavers in general are hardest hit. We need a much more strategic view of education as a whole to enable politicians and social policy makers to develop ways to come to a shared and shareable view of what's needed.