Outraged and Out of touch unemployment organisations should think again. Will Davies, MD of aspect.co.uk has defended his company’s stance towards an apprenticeship bootcamp yesterday which saw a ‘Boris Impersonator’ conduct a Boris Bike race with young unemployed.
Speaking to Huffington Post, the following charities/organisations levelled the following criticism: UK Youth (www.ukyouth.org), Joanne Birch-Phaure, senior communications officer said: “Asking young people to go the extra mile in pursuit of a role is one thing if it demonstrates the skills they will need to do the job in question. Using them for publicity or amusement in this kind of mercenary way is hideously exploitative. “The company involved should drop this stunt or answer just how this helps them select a suitable candidate whilst being sensitive to those who are unsuccessful.”
European Youth Forum (www.youthforum.org), Giuseppe Porcaro, secretary general said: “It seems to me that there is a two-fold problem here: unemployed youths are not only mocked and not recruited for the skills that they would bring to the company but they are also used as free advertisement for the company. “It is double ‘exploitation’ of the precarious situation youth is in due to the economic crisis. Definitely the European Youth Forum is against this kind of practices.”
Tomorrow’s People (www.tomorrows-people.org.uk) said: “These are very challenging times for young people trying to get into the jobs market. For those with no work experience and few qualifications and no support network to fall back on, the barriers to employment are huge. “In our experience what they need is effective training and development to build their confidence and aspirations so they can move forward with their lives. This type of gimmick doesn’t reflect well on Aspect as an employer and the company’s approach to recruitment shows a deep lack of respect for young people and the determination that the vast majority show to get onto the employment ladder.” Davies said: “Political correctness needs to be left at the door in relation to young unemployed. The plight facing young people is so immense in terms of job prospects that you need to have a sense of humour. aspect.co.uk have been diligently organising bootcamps for 2 years and filling apprenticeship roles. We pioneered the concept in Britain. Organisations that are levelling criticism at us for showing some initiative and a little sense of humour to lighten the atmosphere need to think again. Boris Johnson is a key proponent of young people getting off their backsides and back to work. He doesn’t mince his words. We have taken the spirit of Boris Johnson in terms of the tough love approach to youth unemployment.
The Boris Bike race during the lunch break was an opt-in for anyone who wanted to have a laugh. It did not get in the way of the serious drills in terms of numeracy, English language and physical stamina tests which generated our two winners yesterday. “The winners are over the moon and the feedback from all the other contestants was that they had a great day, learnt some useful skills and will be coming back to the next bootcamp to try again.” Two people from the 45 applicants won paid internships with the property maintenance company.
