Report shows NI youth 'dole fear'
More than one in 10 young people in NI (13%) are expecting to end up on benefits, a new report suggests.
Qa Research conducted interviews with 100 young people aged 16 to 24 in NI as part of a wider UK survey of 2,048 on behalf of the Prince's Trust.
Nearly one in five of those questioned (18%) felt their parents did not have the knowledge to help them find a job.
Over two-fifths (42%) said they had no career role models in their area.
In the report, entitled 'Destined for the dole?', eight in 10 (80%) of those from Northern Ireland said that finding a good job was their main priority for the future and 79% said their main aim was to support their family.
Six out of 10 (63%) said that having more volunteering opportunities in their local area would give them the skills they needed to find a job.
Ian Jeffers, Prince's Trust director for Northern Ireland said "too many" young people in Northern Ireland were "facing a cycle of worklessness and can't see a way out".
"It is a tragedy to think that so many feel condemned to a life on benefits," he said.
"Only by giving young people skills, confidence and positive role models can we help them break out of this unemployment trap.
"If we fail to stop these disadvantaged young people becoming disadvantaged adults, this cycle will continue to blight these families for generations to come."
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Northern Ireland rose again in June.
The number claiming jobless benefits was 56,100, a rise of 600 on the figures for May. The claimant count has now gone up by 13.6% in the past year.
Unemployment in Northern Ireland rose despite a fall of 34,000 across the rest of the UK.