A Sheffield councillor says that qualifications are holding young people back and is calling for apprenticeship reform to tackle the rise of youth unemployment.

Barbara Masters, 75, a Liberal Democrat Councillor for Ecclesall, has argued that there is too much emphasis on the younger generation needing traditional qualifications and is calling for a significant change to the apprenticeship scheme to meet the needs of local employers.

This comes after the Level Seven apprenticeship scheme was stopped in January, preventing the funding of apprenticeships for learners aged 22 and over.

Cllr Masters said: “So many are disadvantaged because they can’t get their maths and English qualifications, it worries me.

“Then we see people starting to turn to other things such as criminality.”

The south-west Sheffield representative believes that to help young people have a stronger chance at employment, there must be more opportunities provided to start training them for jobs and giving them the skills that they need.

She said: “Young people who are brilliant at working with engines can’t get a manual job because of an English qualification, it’s holding people back.”

Sheffield Council’s skills and culture policy committee is focused on finding new opportunities for apprenticeship schemes and creating a framework for businesses to give the younger generation a chance.

This includes finding an alternative to the changes of the Level Seven apprenticeship scheme and finding a way to change how employers view our youths’ abilities.

Cllr Masters said: “Employers just do not want to take the risk, they would in the past but now they cannot afford to.”

However, she reassured that the committee is committed to dealing with these problems.

The wage subsidy scheme is in place, which helps fund the job roles of 16-30 year olds in businesses under the programme to give them the skill development they need.

But, new employees must last at least six months which can be difficult and business owners still see it as a risk due to the significant increase in training costs, according to the south-west Sheffield councillor.

It now costs a business around £700 to train a new worker up for a job role and, with the lack of apprenticeship skills young adults are being offered, they are simply choosing to hire more experienced workers.

Young people are also lacking these required grades due to the Covid-19 pandemic and hirers aren’t taking this into consideration.

Cllr Masters advised that young adults do not sit at home applying for jobs but go to shops, café’s and businesses to put themselves out there and speak to employers.