Stop blaming young people for being unemployed, says Amazon's UK boss

Stop blaming young people for being unemployed, says Amazon's UK boss17 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEmer Moreau,Business reporterandSean Farrington,Presenter, Big Boss Interview podcastYoung people out of work is 'a system problem', Amazon boss John Boumphrey told the BBCRecord levels of young people are out of work – but it is not their fault, Amazon's UK boss has said."We have to stop blaming young people," John Boumphrey told the BBC, adding the education system isn't "producing young people who are ready for work".Nearly a million young Britons are not in education, employment or training, yet Boumphrey says Amazon struggles to recruit workers with the skills it needs.He called for work experience to be mandatory for over 16s. "It's not a motivation problem, it's a system problem, and that requires a system response."Amazon employs 75,000 people in the UK, half of whom come straight from education or unemployment, according to Boumphrey.Official figures show the UK's unemployment rate rose slightly to 5% in the three months to March from 4.9% in the three months to February.Boumphrey, Amazon's country manager for the UK, said: "I think too often you read about young people that somehow they lack motivation, they lack resilience, they lack the will to develop skills. That is not our experience."We work with some individuals who are probably furthest from work and that's where we actually see the biggest transformation."AmazonJohn Boumphrey is Amazon's UK bossWork experience should be mandatory for over-16s because it is "transformative" in helping young people learn "things that I don't think we teach in our curriculum, but that all employers are looking for", he said."If you get a T-level student, they come in for a week, they understand the value of teamwork, of communication and problem solving," he told the B...