Some of you may have missed the fact that my birthday fell during this week.  On reflection it would have been lovely to have a fall in years!!!   I have taken some time off to enjoy it – before you say anything it was not to recover from a hangover!!

Time off is good for the soul and it does give you time to reflect – we now have according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today an increase of 16,000 in the number of unemployed young people in the three months to June 2013, taking total youth unemployment close to one million, at 973,000. More worryingly, there are now 19.2 per cent of the under-25 age group unemployed in the last quarter.

Despite overall employment rising by 69,000 to 29.78 million in the UK – the highest level since 1971 – the number of people out of work fell by just 4,000 last quarter, meaning the unemployment rate remained at 7.8 per cent.  All these lovely stats come from CIPD’s chief economist Mark Beatson.

That comparison of 19.2% versus 7.8% is really worrying.  How are we going to help young people?  The larger organisations have the capacity to help but for small businesses this is a considerable risk.  For the last seven years Cullen Scholefield has always employed what I call a “Bright Young Thing”.  This has been incredibly useful for the company as it gives us a fresh perspective on the world of work.  It challenges our thinking and more importantly keeps us refreshed.  Yes, there are costs and frustrations but these are insignificant when compared to the benefits.

I would strongly urge you to consider this tactic as it is good for

• The diversity of your organisation

• Insights into the application of new technology such as Social Media

• Learning from each other

• Fun in terms of good banter between more mature workers and those who are in their 20’s

• Paying back into your local community by working with young people.

We have increased our commitment to this by having two for nearly two years – Hollie Dunster and Stewart Brough. One of the downsides is that you know that bright young things cannot stay forever in a small organisation.  So farewell to Stewart Brough on 6^th September who is off to pastures new.  We congratulate him on his new job and wish him well.

We have Eleanor Brough with us for the summer so some of you will be in contact with her as she carries out a research project for us.

Do remember last week’s blog too – there is potentially a bottle of Ridgeview bubbly for the best three.  Deadline date for entries is 1^st October 2013.  Definitely something for you to play with whilst on the beach!