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Youth Employment

The Minister has certainly given the issue consideration and continues to do so. He has discussed those matters with Lord Freud, who has now been to Northern Ireland a number of times and discussed it with local Ministers. There is a real problem in Northern Ireland with generational unemployment; some households have never known what it is like to work. That is a real concern. People cannot be told that they have to work, without the infrastructure being provided to show them what it is to get up at a regular time in the morning, how they will get to work and how they have to present themselves at work. It will be a real wake-up call, have no doubt about it. We must ensure that the infrastructure is there, so that the most vulnerable in society have some protection and help. Ultimately, the consequences of this reform are in local Ministers’ hands. The number of young people enrolling in full-time professional and technical courses, as I said, has increased dramatically. There has also been a 10% rise in part-time enrolments over the same year. That probably goes to what the hon. Member for Belfast East said in our earlier deliberations about people wanting to better themselves when they are unemployed—to get up, get on and get some qualifications.