People hunting around for vacancies at the moment may like to take heart from the fact that the rise in unemployment has slowed down over the last few months. The predicted rise to 3 million made earlier in the year has not come to fruition, but that is not to say the situation is a happy one for many of Britain?s youngsters.

The downside is that the unemployment figures released in December revealed the number of unemployed 16 to 24 year olds has reached a record high of almost 1 million. Getting that first opportunity in certain sectors like the construction industry is proving difficult for some youngsters, with job vacancies for school leavers in particular hard to come by.
Although vacancies in some areas are slowly increasing, the Government is looking to tackle the problem of youth unemployment by creating 100,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities for under 25s. This includes working on projects such as the new cycle network with government ministers saying that everyone under the age of 25 will be guaranteed a job, training or work experience after six months unemployment.
With the anicipated improvement in the fortunes of the British economy, the construction industry will be keen to have younger blood on board and learning new skills in areas such as engineering. So for school leavers and graduates looking for vacancies in the construction industry, the government promise will provide hope for a brighter start to 2010.