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A view to the future: investing in the young

Interesting to read today of a plan by The Co-operative Group to create more apprenticeships. With public funding for so many areas under threat in Britain’s austerity drive – including skills and education – what will others in the private sector do to ensure Britain has the workforce it needs to compete in the 21st century?

The Co-Op’s plan – which includes a promise to create 2,000 new co-operative apprenticeships, as well as investments in areas such as schooling – is also interesting for the approach it takes to young people.

At an event earlier this month, Steve Bell, Head of Policy for the Communications Workers Union, warned a conference I attended that future tension over austerity cuts “wouldn’t necessarily come from the trade unions” and pointed to the youth riots of the 1980s as a potential indication of what might happen in the UK when public spending cuts start to bite.

The Co-operative, perhaps aware of the potential problems that could be posed by a disaffected ‘lost generation’, is investing 2 million pounds in a programme called Truth About Youth – to challenge what it calls the widespread negative perception of young people.

The question has to be whether other bodies will follow suit. After all, one of the hopes for British growth is that private firms will mop up some of the public sector workers put out of work by government cutbacks, and provide services the government can no longer offer.

But the Co-op is not like other businesses. A mutual, it doesn’t have to answer to shareholders. It shares its profits with its 5 million plus members who drive company policy. Many large listed companies barely even listen to their shareholders, as recent attempts by investors to challenge executive payouts have shown.

from FaithWorld:

GUESTVIEW: Young British Muslims are speaking, but who’s listening?

The following is a guest contribution. Reuters is not responsible for the content and the views expressed are the author’s alone. Sughra Ahmed is a Research Fellow at the Policy Research Centre, which is based at the Islamic Foundation in Leicestershire and specialises in research, policy advice and training on issues related to British Muslims.

By Sughra Ahmed

It may seem well and good to think children should be seen and not heard - there's nothing wrong with a touch of Victorian, especially true during a good movie! But what if the censored are not young children at all? What if they are flashpoints in our conversations on not so trivial subjects, you know, things like national security, integration and democracy. And what if, instead of listening, we systematically speak on their behalf, saying what they are thinking and how they fit into the whole social and political spectrum.

Enter young British Muslims, but please sit down over there in one group, and mind you don't speak - we have interpreters for that: a choice of representative institutions, community spokespersons, experts on what young people think, and media sound bytes. Yes, much is said and written about young Muslims, not only in black ink but leapfrogging from blog to blog and showing no signs of tiring. Rarely though, is it the young voices themselves. Commentators of many persuasions seem keen to tell us how and what a silent majority from British Muslims think. If it's not the majority then certainly a large proportion .

Let's take a look at the basics: nearly half of British Muslims are under 25 and overwhelmingly British born, about a third are 16 or under. Half are women (I feel a need to state the obvious) and most are not in northern former mill towns (less than 5% of British Muslims actually live in ‘popular imagination' Bradford).

We are used to hearing about young Muslims in the context of radicalisation of Muslim opinion, but their lives are far more complex. There is an untold story of intergenerational challenges, the role of community leadership and its short comings as well as alienation from institutions of wider society. But the picture is not all bad - young people feel a strong sense of national pride and really want to do things to make their lives better.

These were some of the considerations surrounding my report released today called Seen and Not Heard: Voices of Young British Muslims, published by the Policy Research Centre. Here's the Reuters news story on it -- "Young British Muslims angry with police and media." Interestingly 45% of the young people I spoke with were female; hearing their thoughts, feelings and aspirations was enlightening. Young women are often sidelined from mainstream debates both within Muslim organisations and wider British society. Hearing their audible views and concerns alongside and with their male counterparts reflects the invaluable contribution they have to make - they had a lot on their minds.