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6 THE DISADVANTAGED

6.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on socio-economic disadvantage among 23/24 years olds in Scotland and highlights some of the experiences of those who are in some way disadvantaged. It begins with a description of the prevalence of different types of disadvantage among the young adults, distinguishing between disadvantages associated with family circumstances, educational outcomes and labour market experiences. The following sections focus on educational participation and the prevalence of unemployment, highlighting factors associated with unemployment and the characteristics of those with a history of unemployment. This chapter closes by focusing on those out of the labour force for other reasons with a particular emphasis on young mothers, considers the situation of those in the low skill and insecure sectors of the labour market and finally describe patterns of participation on government sponsored training programmes.

6.2 Types of disadvantage

6.2.1 Characteristics of the sample

At age 23/24 early school-leavers will have been in the labour market for up to eight years; some will have gained skills and established careers, while others will be struggling to secure stable positions or may be long-term unemployed. Among those with extended experience of education, some will also have managed to gain a foothold in the labour market while others, especially those with recent experience of Higher Education, may still be searching for jobs or be working in temporary positions. Their situations will be strongly affected by patterns of educational attainment (which will have been affected by factors such as social class, family resources, types of school attended and the areas in which they live) although disadvantages associated with family and area may still have an impact. We begin this section by summarising these patterns of disadvantage before looking at the ways in which these are linked to educational and labour market experiences.

Disadvantaged family circumstances are represented here by information on parents' occupation (which was collected in the first sweep), with 'low social class' used to refer to those located in social class V and VI on the basis of the 'best' occupation held by their mother or father (17% of the sample) (Table 6-1). In addition, area-based indicators of multiple deprivation are derived from the 2004 Scottish Indicators of Multiple Deprivation that are based on indices pertaining to current income, employment, health, education, training and skills, geographic access and telecommunications and housing. These indicators are not based on the circumstances of the individual respondent or their family, but on figures from the Census for the postcode sector in which they lived when they were 16-17. The indicators are ranked and the lowest 15% are used as an indicator of severely deprived localities. The 15% threshold is used as this corresponds to targets published by the Scottish Executive in 'Closing the Gap' and therefore refers to the 15% of young people who had been resident in these severely deprived areas.

Nearly one in five young people (18%) had left school at the minimum age and almost one in four had not been in education since the age of 18/19 (May 2001). Nearly one in ten had less than three Standard Grades (at grade 1-3) at age 17 and these can be considered as poorly qualified. At age 23-24, eight per cent of females had children and were either living alone or were still living with their own parents, these are referred to as lone parents. More than one in ten females (14%) but less than one in twenty males (4%) were receiving a means tested benefit. This gender differential can be linked to the number of young mothers who were eligible for means tested benefits, such as housing benefits or child tax credits. (Table 6-1)

While the SSLS includes details of a fairly wide range of objective measures of disadvantage, there is little information that facilitates the identification of the types of subjective orientations that may impede educational progress or labour market transitions. The best representation of subjective orientations is derived from a battery of questions (Q47) that ask young people to show the strength of their agreement with a range of statements reflecting the ways in which they feel themselves to be in control of events. Following established procedure, these questions were scored on a five point scale to represent strength of agreement and are used here to form a 'locus of control' scale with those who strongly feel that they lack control over events represented in the bottom deciles.

6.2.2 Labour market disadvantage

Patterns of labour market disadvantage can be identified in a number of ways, although the survey does not collect full details of number of periods of unemployment since leaving education or total length of unemployment. The best information relates to current unemployment, which is relatively low (6% of males and 2% of females), the number of periods of unemployment over the last 18 months (23% of males and 20% of females had been unemployed on at least one occasion over this period) and the longest period of unemployment ever encountered (4% of males and 5% of females had experienced a single period of unemployment lasting a year or more). Females were more likely to be out of the labour market with 12% of females compared with 2% of males being neither in education, jobs or unemployed: many of these were looking after children or relatives. (Table 6.1)

With Government training programmes (such as the New Deal) largely being targeted at those experiencing difficulties in the labour market, participation is somewhat indicative of disadvantage. Since May 2004 nine percent of males and six percent of females had experienced a Government training programme. Of those who were working, around one in four were in low skill jobs (26% of males and 27% of females). ³ Around one in five respondents (21% of males and females) held a temporary contract in their current or last job and their positions can be regarded as somewhat insecure. (Table 6.1)

Table 6-1 Indicators of disadvantage, by gender

There was a strong regional variation in the distribution of disadvantage with severe multiple deprivation being particularly prevalent in Glasgow and also high in Lanarkshire, Renfrew and Argyll and Ayr. In Glasgow, for example, at age 16/17 nearly four in ten young people lived in the 15% of postcode areas with extremely high levels of deprivation (Figure 6.1). Conversely, relatively few young people in Grampian, Borders and Highlands and Islands had been living in severely deprived areas at that age.

Figure 6-1 Severe multiple deprivation, by region

6.3 Disadvantage and educational participation

Socio-economic disadvantages affect patterns of participation in education, and, at age 23/24, the impact of disadvantage on educational participation was still evident. Those from the professional and managerial classes were almost twice as likely as those from classes V and VI to be participating in Higher Education and there is evidence that those from the most advantaged areas (15% least deprived areas) are strongly over-represented in Higher Education (Table 6.2). There was also an under-representation in education of lone parents and those who feel that they have little control over life events. It should be noted, however, that this only included those who were participating in higher education at the time of the survey and does not include those who had completed their education.

Table 6-2 Deprivation indicators, by educational participation at age 24

The overall pattern of participation in education at age 23/24 masks some important variations in the level at which young people are participating (Table 6-3). Males were more likely than females to be studying for postgraduate or professional qualifications while more females were studying at sub-degree level. The impact of deprivation on level of qualification currently being studied comes across clearly in relation to social class and deprivation rank of area of residence. Whereas almost six in ten young people from the lower working classes who were in education were studying for sub-degree qualifications, among those from the professional and managerial classes more than half were studying for postgraduate or professional qualifications. Similarly, around half of those from the most severely deprived neighbourhoods were studying for sub-degree qualifications compared with just 16% of those from the most advantaged areas.

Table 6-3 Current qualification level being studied, by gender, class and multiple deprivation rank

6.4 Unemployment

At age 23/24, males who had participated in full-time education since 2001 (age 18/19) were slightly more likely to be unemployed than those who left earlier although those who had experienced full-time education since 2001 were more likely never to have experienced unemployment (Table 6.4). Recent experience of education appeared to have a much weaker impact on female unemployment. However, with early leavers having had more time to settle into the labour market while some of the later leavers may still be seeking graduate employment, these figures may give a poor indication of future prospects. More than one in ten women were out of the labour market at age 23/24 with those having no recent experience of education being slightly more likely to have withdrawn.

Table 6-4 Experience of unemployment, by educational participation since 2001

Experience of unemployment on at least one occasion over the previous 18 months tended to be more prevalent among those with various disadvantages including low educational attainments (Table 6.5). Unemployment was particularly prevalent among those with experience of a Government training programme since May 2004, those with few qualifications at age 17, those whose last or current job was temporary and those who felt they had a weak control over life events. Those who had come from severely deprived areas were also more likely to have had recent experience of unemployment, as were single mothers.

Table 6-5 Indicators of disadvantage, by current status

Although relatively few 23/24 year-olds had encountered a single period of unemployment of a year or more since leaving school, long-term unemployment was highest among those living in Glasgow, Argyll and Ayr and Lanarkshire (Figure 6.2). Young people living in Fife and Tayside were most likely to have been unemployed in the last 18 months while much fewer had experienced recent unemployment in Grampian and Lothian.

Figure 6-2 Experience of unemployment, by region

Those who were currently unemployed were asked about the factors that were associated with their non-participation in education, employment or training (Table 6.6). The numbers are too small to make reliable statements, but the main reasons given related to a perceived lack of opportunities or indecision rather than personal or family problems, ill-health or competing responsibilities.

Table 6-6 Reasons for currently being unemployed

6.5 Out of labour force

At age 23/24 12% of females and 2% of males were outside of the labour force with three in ten females (73%) outwith the labour market having children. Overall, more than one in two women (54%) with children were outside the labour market at this point in time. With children affecting decisions about participation, the reasons for non-participation are differentiated by gender, yet cell sizes are too small to make reliable statements about men who are outside the labour market (n=13). As such, the analysis in this section is confined to females. Note, however, that the following analyses of females outside of the labour force are still based on only 59 respondents in total, so the figures should be treated with considerable caution.

By and large these women were out of the labour force to look after the home or children (79%), although a third (36%) had poor health or a disability and nearly one in four (23%) had personal problems (Table 6.7). It was also common for women out of the labour force to be undecided about their future careers (29%), not to have found a suitable job or course (24%) or to recognise a need for more qualifications or skills. Just over one in five (22%) felt that they would be worse off financially in a job or on a course.

Table 6-7 Reasons for currently being out of the labour force

By comparison with other young women, those with children who were out of the labour force suffered from a range of disadvantages (Figure 6.3). They were five times more likely to have less than three Standard Grades at age 17, twice as likely to have lived in an area of severe deprivation and were more likely to feel that they were relatively unable to influence life events. Two thirds received means tested benefits.

Figure 6-3 Indicators of disadvantage: mothers out of the labour force vs other females

6.6 Poor jobs

While those who had followed extended routes through education were likely to enjoy advantages in the labour market, at age 23/24 differences in occupation were not particularly pronounced. Those who had recently completed Higher Education may still be seeking graduate careers and some will still be working in jobs held whilst studying. At age 23/24, those who had participated in full-time education beyond the age of 18/19 were more likely than earlier leavers to be in temporary employment with nearly one in four holding fixed term contracts (Figure 6.4). At this stage males and females with extended education were slightly less likely than earlier leavers to hold low skill jobs. While the difference is relatively small, other studies have shown that the occupational benefits of extended education can take some time to materialise. ⁴

Figure 6-4 Stage of leaving education, by employment status

Low skill jobs tended to be most prevalent among those who had no Standard Grades at 1-3 at age 17, those who had lived in areas of high deprivation and, for females, those from lower working class families (Figure 6.5). Around a third of those who had no full-time education since 2001 and those who felt that they had little control over their lives were in low skill jobs at age 23/24. Males who had experienced a government training programme since 2004 were less likely than females to be working in low skill occupations at age 23/24.

Figure 6-5 Young people in low skill jobs, by indicators of disadvantage

6.7 Training programmes

Young adults who encounter prolonged unemployment or who experience difficulties in the labour market have the possibility of joining a variety of government sponsored programmes to help them improve their employability or develop their skills or education. For those over the age of 18/19, most opportunities are provided under the auspices of the New Deal which itself provides a range of options that can be tailored to individual needs and preferences. The SSLS collects information on training programme participation through the diary and main status questions, making the distinction between those in jobs that include government training programmes and those not employed but on government sponsored training. While the difference is important insofar as those on employer-based programmes have been shown to be more likely to find stable jobs, for some there is likely to be some confusion as the New Deal, for example, can be offered under an employer-based and a community-based model. Moreover, the numbers here are too small to make any meaningful comparisons between subsequent employment experiences.

Overall, 13% of the cohort had been on a government sponsored training scheme between the ages of 18/19 and 23/24, although for some the experience will have been fleeting. Levels of participation were the same for males and females. Overall numbers are too small to provide any reliable statistics about the impact of training on subsequent careers, but (as would be expected) at age 23/24 those who had been on a training programme since age 18/19 tended to occupy less secure positions in the labour market. Of the training programme participants nearly six in ten (57%) were in full-time jobs at age 23/24 as compared with seven in ten of those who had not participated. Unemployment rates were also higher among the training programme participants (8% as compared with 3%), while current educational participation was higher among the non-participants (11% compared with 7%).

6.8 Conclusion

• This chapter reviewed patterns of disadvantage among young people at age 23/24 and looked at some of the ways in which these disadvantages impacted on their experiences in the labour market.
• At age 23/24 the vast majority had completed full-time education, although it was those from advantaged families or areas who were most likely to remain in education.
• Among those remaining in education, those who were disadvantaged in some way were more likely than their more advantaged peers to be studying at sub-degree level.
• Although education provides some protection against unemployment, at this stage young graduates are still trying to establish themselves in the labour market, and they too encounter periods of unemployment with many having experienced unemployment sometime over the period. Yet those with recent experience of unemployment tended to suffer from educational, personal or labour market disadvantages.
• Long-term unemployment was concentrated in certain parts of the country, especially Glasgow, Argyll and Ayr and Lanarkshire.
• From the perspective of those who were unemployed, the main reasons given related to a lack of opportunities or indecision rather than to personal or family problems, ill-health or competing responsibilities.
• At age 23/24, more than one in ten females were outside of the labour market with three quarters of these having children. These young women were particularly disadvantaged.
• Many young people were working in low skill jobs. A high proportion of these had poor qualifications, had left education at a relatively early stage and faced a range of socio-economic disadvantages. However, at this stage low skill employment among those with extended experience of education was not uncommon.
• Although more than four in ten had participated in a government sponsored training programme since the age of 18/19, the numbers involved are too small to permit us to examine the impact of the training experience on subsequent employment patterns. Superficially, unemployment rates remained higher and rates of full-time employment remained lower among those who had participated. Without being able to control for the impact of other factors, such as educational level, this does not mean much.

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