Rowen Launches Lifeboat for Rochdale's Youth

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 25th Sep 2009

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Minister this morning spoke at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference for a motion to launch a lifeboat for youth unemployment.

The motion passed unanimously calling on the Government to fund 10,000 extra University places and invest additional resources into Foundation Degrees to be paid for by scrapping the wasteful VAT cut.

The motion also called for funding the off-the-job costs of apprenticeships for over-18s, diverting the necessary funding from the 'Train to Gain' programme.

Mr Rowen reminded the conference hall of Thatcher's children, warning against the damage a lost generation of unemployed youth could cause in the future.

Young people aged 18-24 have been bearing the brunt of rising unemployment, under the flexible new deal they will not qualify for practical help until they have been out of work for 12 months, Mr Rowen called for them to be given immediate assistance as soon as they find themselves out of work.

Paul Rowen, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Minister, commented:'It is clear that higher level skills are still what employers need we cannot allow young graduates to become a lost generation - graduates who cannot gain jobs immediately must be given the opportunity through internships and placements to gain in work skills to complement their academic ones.

There is a danger that the need for higher level skills for economic recovery is lost in the skills debate. If skills are not used, they can decay therefore young people must be given help from day one and not allowed to languish in unemployment.'