COVID-19: Economic impact on young people

Closed 31 Jul 2020

Opened 3 Jul 2020

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

COVID-19: Economic impact on young people

The Economy Energy and Fair Work Committee will continue to focus on the impact of COVID-19 in the autumn and invites you to submit evidence on the specific issues outlined below:

This specific consultation focuses on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. Please only answer the questions you have a view on.

  1. How can we ensure that young people have the skills needed to promote economic recovery and to ensure that they gain/remain in employment?

  2. How can employers (including the public sector) be encouraged to employ young people? What levers does the Scottish Government have to incentivise employers to employ young people? 

  3. How can procurement be used to incentivise the provision of opportunities to young people?

  4. What is the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on graduate recruitment? 

  5. Do you agree that a Scottish Job Guarantee Scheme is needed?  How effective would it be in addressing the potential scarring effect of the crisis on the lives of young people? What practical steps and resources would be needed to implement it? 

  6. How do we protect the budget for skills development during an economic crisis where funds are limited? Is Skills Development Scotland’s budget sufficient for tackling the potential challenges ahead?

  7. What will the impact of the economic crisis be on apprenticeships? What can the Scottish Government and its agencies do to ensure that apprenticeships continue to be available to young people? 

  8. How can equal opportunities for young people be promoted during the economic crisis? 

  9. How can we ensure that young people have sufficient means to meet the cost of living during the crisis?

  10. In this time of unprecedented government support for business, how can the Scottish Government ensure its “fair work first” principles are adhered to in relation to youth employment opportunities? 

  11. How effective were the Scottish Government’s policies aimed at supporting young people during the previous recession of 2008-9? What lessons can be learned? 

  12. How are the enterprise and skills agencies adapting to the potential impacts on young people, and are they sufficiently resourced to meet these challenges over coming months and years?

  13. What are other countries and sub-national regions around the world doing to support young people in the labour market?

Why your views matter

This is part of the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee’s ongoing inquiry on the impact of COVID-19 on Scotland’s economy, including businesses and workers.  The Committee issued an open call for views after the crisis began; we thank those who have already submitted evidence. This has helped inform the Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish and UK Governments’ response to the crisis. More information on the Committee’s work to date can be found here.

How to submit your views
Please submit your views via the submission form, linked to below.

The call for views will close on Friday 31 July 2020.

If you need advice, please contact the Clerks on the email address: economy@parliament.scot

Before making a submission, please read our privacy notice (pdf) about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process your personal data.  If you are under 12 years of age, please read this privacy notice (pdf).

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.