A support service says there has been a big jump in the number of 17 to 19 year olds in Guernsey looking for work.
The Guernsey Employment Trust, or GET, helps disabled and neurodivergent islanders find work.
Team lead Alex Martinson says over the past two years it has seen its caseload of young people rise:
"The percentage of the referrals that are for under 25 have increased from 18% to 50%.
Last year and 2025, 65% of those were for 17 to 19-year-olds."
It comes as a national report, written by former UK Health Secretary Alan Milburn, warns of a 'lost generation' of people not in employment, education or training.
Youngsters in both Guernsey and the UK say that they find a lack of work experience is a barrier to recruitment but Alex Martinson says that GET can help with that:
"We’ve got really strong relationships with many of the on-island employers and that gives us the opportunity to set up things like unpaid placements, which will help boost confidence and skills, that experience that people are looking for."
Alex says the pandemic is partly to blame:
"Many of the young people entering the employment market now were at important educational or transitional points during Covid, which will have also had a huge impact on their mental health and also their social and communication skills."
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