THE ENTRY OF SCHOOL LEAVERS INTO EMPLOYMENT1
| Author | Joan Maizels |
| Date | 01 March 1965 |
| Published date | 01 March 1965 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1965.tb00888.x |
THE ENTRY
OF
SCHOOL LEAVERS INTO EMPLOYMENT1
JOAN
MAIZELS
IN
order to select
a
representative sample of employers and young people
for interviewing in a research study now being carried out in the borough
of
Willesden, it was first necessary to discover in some detail the industries
and occupations in which young people were employed in the borough as
well as the sizes of the employing firms. Since this information
is
not avail-
able from official statistics, two sources of information were used: the
placements records of the local Youth Employment bureau and
a
direct
inquiry of the employing firms. The present note summarizes the main
statistical results.
THE
PLACEMENTS
RECORDS
Since the objective was to obtain information about the employment
of those over fifteen but under eighteen years of age, the aggregate place-
ments over the three years October
1960
to September
1963
were analysed.2
It soon became evident, however, that a study of placement records in
rather more detail than that required solely for the purpose of constructing
a
sample might yield interesting results. Accordingly, the details noted
included not only the industry, occupation and size of firm, but also first
or subsequent placement, placement within or without the borough, type
of secondary education and the age at placement.
First
Placements
Over the three year period, some
5,880
young people left school,
of
whom
45
per cent were placed in their first jobs by the Willesden Youth
Employment Bureau (see Table
I).
The proportion placed in their first
employment was, however, twice as high for secondary modern school
leavers
(56
per cent)
as
for technical or grammar school leavers
(25-7
per
cent). These results are not too different from the corresponding figures
for England3 for which the proportion of all school leavers placed in their
first jobs in
1959-62
was
37
per cent, while the proportion for secondary
modern school leavers was above those for the technical and grammar
school groups.
1
This article presents some preliminary findings from an inquiry into the employment of
young people under eighteen in the borough of Willesden. The inquiry, which has been made
possible by a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust,
is
being conducted under the
auspices of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
2
I
am indebted
to
the Middlesex Education Committee for their co-operation in making the
relevant records available.
3
The
Work
of
th
Youth
Employment
Smue,
1959-1962,
National Youth Employment Council
(London,
1962)
77
To continue reading
Request your trial