The Labour Market

The number and types of business in any area change over time. These can lead to fewer or even more jobs becoming available. Such local labour market information is important to anyone looking for a job or a course in South Tyneside.

Labour Market Information: Some Key Facts

Here are a few snippets of labour market information to help you.

• There are fewer full time jobs available requiring little or no skills.
• Some employers can get hung up on employing young people with 5 A-C grades at GCSE when the majority of young job seekers at this age will have lower GCSE grades. Qualities and skills such as a practical aptitude, enthusiasm and reliability are just as important.
• There's a lot of negative press around about young people. Growing up has never been easy and some young people have huge hurdles to overcome. Sometimes they need a lot of understanding to settle in to work and fulfil their potential as an employee.
• There are more opportunities than ever to earn and learn – that is taking qualifications, usually NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) whilst working. Lots of young people who have not enjoyed learning at school are very motivated by NVQs which are practical and evidence the achievements they have made in working life.
• The rate of change in the labour market is rapid and young people will change careers several times in their (likely to be long) working life. This means that skills and qualifications are ever more crucial in helping them to move around from job to job.
• Travelling to and from work is still a big issue in South Tyneside for lots of young people who would love to apply for some vacancies but cannot access transport to allow them to start on time.