AmazonThe Prime Minister says young people are not to blame for rising unemployment and believes the education system is failing to prepare them for work.John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager, said that while almost one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training, businesses across the country are struggling to recruit workers with the skills they need.Speaking to the BBC, Bonfrey dismissed suggestions that the younger generation lacked motivation or resilience.“We have to stop blaming young people,” he said.“This is not a motivational issue, it is a systemic issue that requires a systemic response.”The BBC quoted official data released this week showing that the British unemployment rate rose to 5% in the three months to March, slightly higher than the 4.9% in the previous reporting period.Young people have been particularly affected by the slowdown in recruitment, with fewer jobs in the hospitality industry and cuts to graduate recruitment schemes contributing to a weakening labor market.Boumphrey said Amazon faces the opposite challenge of recruiting enough technology and engineering staff.Boumphrey said Amazon currently has about 75,000 employees in the UK, about half of whom have joined directly from education or unemployment.He believes schools and colleges are not equipping students with practical workplace skills and is calling for work experience placements to be compulsory for everyone over the age of 16.He said work experience helps young people develop the communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills that employers increasingly expect.“If you take a T-level student and they come in for a week, they understand the value of teamwork, communication and problem-solving,” he said in an interview on BBC’s Big Boss.Boumphrey also called for greater collaboration between businesses, local authorities and further education colleges to tackle regional skills shortages.“I think businesses need to work with local government and further education colleges,” he said.“You need to do this regionally so you understand what the skills gaps are.”Amazon operates around 100 sites in the UK, including 30 warehouses.Boumphrey said the company has a growing need for technicians and engineering experts as automation and robotics expand in its warehouses, adding that Amazon is working to recruit enough people to fill those positions.
