A new generation will be defined by our ability to create a positive future from this crisis. It is also an opportunity for us all says Nigel Morris, President and trustee of Working Options in Education.
In a recently published article he says:
“As the death toll mounts, the economic and social implications become stark. On 14 April the IMF warned of the worst slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s and in the UK, The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast a 35% plunge in GDP in the second quarter.
The sheer scale of the challenges we face, requires us to plan for the future as we battle the present. But there is no predetermined Future. Especially now. Only one of a number of possible Futures. Near the top of the list is the need for a plan to help a generation of young people that is already starting to be labelled Generation C.
Generation C will partly be defined by their experiences in the crisis; of social distancing and isolation; of fear and stress; of new constraints and rules; of boredom and meaninglessness. Some will be positively influenced by the growth in community. Some will become more aware and more socially and politically active. But for many more, this will be a brutal experience of uncertainty and loss.
Generation C will also be defined by the enormous challenges that the aftermath of COVID-19 and its consequences will create for the years to come. The immediate direct impact will be on opportunities in education and employment and these could be damaging beyond anything of which we have experience.
At any normal time, one of the most difficult challenges in anyone’s life, is the transition from school-based education to working life or further education. Complex personal, economic, social and cultural factors come together to define the opportunities, the challenges and the barriers, real and perceived, that define the choices for young people.
For way too many of these young people, even in ‘normal’ times, the choices that they feel they have, are limited at best. For way too many it’s an under-informed and under-supported choice that they face with resignation or indifference. For the most deprived young people in the most deprived areas, there is very little choice at all.”
At Working Options in Education, the work we’ve always done to help improve employability and life skills for young people has never been more important. We’ve responded to Covid-19 by significantly increasing our online content for students and will soon add lesson plans for educators to maximise the content for schools and colleges.
Nigel Morris being interviewed on Sky News
