#CargoOfBricks: Strategic response needed from Stormont for “education leavers”

One of the key reasons for having #TheReset 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…

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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 the 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 students’ actual needs.

 

If you would like to get involved in #TheReset with Ulster Bank either as an individual or as part of an organisation, please do get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October.

In the meantime, you can catch up on Cargo of Bricks and In Conversation and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your quality podcasts.