Is it Enough to be NEET?

In this little corner of the Dis-United Kingdom the weather has improved somewhat, with more sunshine than overcast, and the breeze at least has some warmth in it.
Still not up to the summer weather we might expect for this time of year, but at least it's better for our allotments than the weather we've had recently.
By lunchtime we were reclining in our deckchairs on the little patch of grass outside Nosher's shed, putting the world to rights.
'I hear the LSE is about to publish a report indicating that the proportion of the young between 16 and 18 years of age who are not in employment, education or training is around 18%, over twice the official Government figure' said Nosher, by way of starting the ball rolling.
'If it's true' I replied 'that truly is astonishing - that means there are hundreds of thousands of youngsters in this country living directionless lives, totally economically dependant upon their parents or the State, instead of learning skills that will enable them to become economically independent adults.'
Nosher smiled at me - the kind of smile I've come to expect from him when he considers that I know little or nothing.
'When I was a lad' he said 'most kids left school at fourteen and went straight into employment, either as an apprentice, or as a shop assistant, or in a factory as an ordinary worker. They might not have earned very much, but they had the benefit of an adult to work closely with, who soon put out of their heads any silly ideas that they would earn a fortune or live an easy life. In those days, if you wanted to get on in life, you knew you had to learn a skill and be good at it, and make yourself useful to those who required the skills you possessed. You didn't stop learning until you had a little niche for yourself, and even then, if you were wise, you continued to look out for new skills that might one day be useful. Nowadays many of the young, it seems, grow up without any effective adult supervision, and expect the State or their parents to support them whilst they sit around playing computer games. This is a recipe for social and economic disaster in the not too distant future.'
I stared back at Nosher in agreement. He is irritatingly right at times.
'This is not a new problem, though' I told him 'it's something that's been building up ever since Thatcher, and then Major, effectively destroyed the apprenticeship system in this country. And Blair and Brown haven't done any better. They've allowed a youth culture to develop in which it's seen as perfectly respectable to live off the State for one's entire life, whilst blaming "society" for everything about one's life that is not deemed to be satisfactory. I fear any solution to the problem of economically-inactive, State-dependent youths of working age will require long-term initiatives that will not come cheap.'
'Which means it's unlikely to happen' Nosher replied, then he went on:
'Realistically, we must accept that the outlook for this country is now very bleak.'
I do hope Nosher is wrong, but sometimes there's no other option but to agree with him.
More from www.overthegardenfence.blogspot.com soon.
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Best wishes.