A 16-year-old school pupil from Ceredigion will be launching a Youth Select Committee report today at the Houses of Parliament, investigating the barriers faced by young people across the country in accessing work experience.

Max Parry is a member of the Youth Select Committee and ambassador to the Children’s Commissioner of Wales.

This year, the committee’s report - titled ‘Realising the potential of work experience’ - is being launched at a special House of Commons reception with Sir David Natzler, clerk of the House of Commons, in anticipation of a government response

The report launch forms part of the UK Parliament Week festival.

Work experience was chosen as the topic of the inquiry following thousands of votes in the 2017 Make Your Mark ballot, designed to give youth a voice.

Earlier this year a YouGov poll revealed over two-thirds of young people (71 per cent) are expecting it to be tougher to find a job in 2030, with 58 per cent of all 11 to 18-year-olds citing a lack of work experience as a barrier.

The report launch comes at a time when Office for National Statistics figures reveal almost half a million young people are unemployed, a figure which in itself conceals substantial inequalities.

Claudia Quinn, chair of the Youth Select Committee, said: “Following our extensive inquiry, we have concluded the Government need to address the patchy, unequal nature of young people’s access to work experience.

"The government must act now to ensure the most disadvantaged young people can access high-quality work experience.”

Rt Hon John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, said: “From questioning business leaders to charity experts, the Youth Select Committee spent months investigating how high-quality work experience can help future-proof the UK’s economy. The result is a detailed report which again shows how essential the committee is in representing the views of our country’s future, now more than ever.

"I am delighted to see the launch of this report, and I am confident my Parliamentary colleagues will consider its conclusions. I am also certain it will provide an invaluable contribution to the wider discussions in this area.”