Why are young university graduates in Britain finishing up on state benefits?

 

Theo dal Pozzo

A 23-year-old British man with a first-class postgraduate degree in computer science, who speaks four languages - English, Portuguese, French and Spanish, has been rejected by 500 British employers and is now on Universal Credit. 

Theo dal Pozzo, 23, completed a first-class postgraduate degree in computer science, specialising in machine learning from the University of Exeter in 2024. Since graduating, Theo, has found himself unemployed and on state benefits. He thinks that AI screening of job applications and his lack of work experience might be acting as a barrier to him getting a job. 

The Labour government of Keir Starmer, say that they're concerned about the number of young British people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs), and are living on state benefits. 

In many countries in the west, including America, having an education and being highly qualified, has usually led to better jobs and better remuneration, but that seems to be in reverse in Britain. I know of very highly qualified people who have found it almost impossible to get a decent job in Britain and one man once told me, that he had been advised by his DWP Jobcentre adviser, not to disclose, that he had a university degree, because it might scare off potential employers. 

The problem that young people like Theo dal Pozzo face, is that the longer they're unemployed, the less attractive and marketable they become to potential employers. As the economist Richard Layard said, they become like "withering flowers."