HR professionals, careers advisers, teachers and youth workers have been urged to encourage school leavers to sign up to a new jobs challenge, launched yesterday to help them compete in the jobs market.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), last summer, college and university leavers swelled the numbers on Jobseekers Allowance, as over 560,000 18-24 year-olds signed on.

 

This year the jobs market remains competitive, so it is asking professionals, who work with young people, to encourage them to get ahead of the crowd by following the 21 Day Challenge on The Student Room website.

Figures from the fields of sport, fashion and psychology share their expertise in a series of daily tips. The advice ranges from writing a CV to setting up your own business and runs for 21 days – the time it takes to form a good habit.

Sports psychologist Rhonda Cohen from Middlesex University is supporting the Challenge. She said: "We know that self-belief and a ‘can do’ attitude is essential for success in whatever people choose to do, be it learning a skill or performing a job so we encourage school leavers to follow these tips and get these skills right from the start. The support and encouragement of professionals working with young people is also really important.

Jamie O’Connell, from The Student Room, added: "We see a lot of our users asking for help with things like writing CVs and where to find jobs; by doing something each day, they will be taking small achievable steps to their ultimate goal of getting a job.

"We know that it takes around 21 days for an activity to become a habit so school leavers can follow these tips to get it right from the start."

The Government is setting up 50,000 new apprenticeships and creating the Work Programme, which will give young people flexible support to get them into work.