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With the recession in full swing and unemployment figures reaching 2.38 million, there is little doubt that it is a worrying time for many new university graduates. Not surprising, when the figures show that young people have been hit hardest, with unemployment figures for under 24’s reaching their highest peak in 16 years. With the prediction that the economic climate will only get worse as new rounds of graduates are produced next year, Gordon Brown has announced fresh plans to combat the problem. Following the Queen’s Speech, the PM promised that young people aged between 18 and 24 would be given training and work experience as soon as they sign on for Jobseekers allowance. He also stated that all new graduates would be able to apply for internships within six months of signing on, which is in addition to the new initiative that graduates would be able to apply for training to set up their own businesses again within six months of signing on. Noticeably, Brown's plans did not involve any new intiatives to stem unemployment at the source, that is to say he did not propose any changes which would enable students to find work as soon as they graduate. It has been suggested that to counter this issue the government needs to fund training schemes within businesses, however, so far no such plans have been proposed.

Not astonishingly, Brown’s proposals have been subject to criticism by the opposition party leaders who have said that the plans do not go anywhere near far enough to combat the problem of youth unemployment. Tory leader, David Cameron, said “proper welfare reform was needed” if this issue was to be tackled head one, with Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, adding that Brown’s government spent too long legislating and not enough time acting. Clegg believes that the solution to the problem is the creation of jobs and aiding the banks so they can start functioning properly again and thus begin lending in order that businesses can survive. However, it seems that none of the political parties have a ‘magic’ answer to the problem and with the Labour administration almost certainly on the way out, it could be argued that graduate’s hopes lie with Cameron who has so far failed to unveil any major plans in tackling unemployment amongst graduates.

In times gone by, having a degree was almost a fail safe path into a professional career, however with a major rise in the number of people going to university, supply far outweighs the demand for graduates. It could be argued then, that one solution to the problem would be a decrease in the number of people attending university, with more young people applying for apprenticeships and practical training, although this seems to go against government policies where everything is geared towards higher education. The Labour government actively encouraged people into higher education with Tony Blair setting the target of 50% of school leavers going on to university, which of course should be a positive thing; however with the introduction of hideously high tuition fees, we are now left with a generation of graduates who are saddled with debt and are searching for employment in a market where the number of job opportunities is decreasing everyday.

Admittedly this is a complex problem, which of course does not have an easy solution, but it is suffice to say that the present government are not doing enough to counter graduate unemployment. With many people believing that the sun is setting on the Labour government, it seems now that graduates must look to a new administration to stem youth unemployment before we are left with a generation of graduates standing in the dole queue.

Iona.