By Leeza Clark

A GENERATION of young jobless people is costing Scotland millions in lost productivity and crime, according to a joint report published today by The Prince’s Trust and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The report, The Cost of Exclusion, warned that youth unemployment is costing the country’s economy nearly £6 million a week in lost productivity.

And this, together with the £2m a week the Government pays out in Jobseeker’s Allowances, means young unemployed are costing Scotland dear.

However the bad news doesn’t stop there as the report, based on research carried out by the centre for economic performance at the London School of Economics, also revealed youth crime is costing Scotland £92m every year, while underachievement in education also carries a financial burden of over £1.2bn in lost earnings.

It estimated that every year 70,000 school-age offenders enter the youth justice system across the UK, a proportion of them costing Scotland £92m, while the report also highlighted the fact that there were around 35,000 young people from Scotland without any qualifications which cost over £1bn in foregone earning.

The fact nearly one young person in five is not in work, education or training was labelled a “dreadful waste of human potential” by the Prince’s Trust Scotland director Geraldine Gammell yesterday.

“Only by helping young people in Scotland develop new skills and get back into work can we make a real investment in our country,” she added.

The report has recommended more investment is needed to help youths in Scotland’s deprived communities not in employment, education or training and argued that helping them gain key skills to find work represented value for money given the costs of social exclusion.

Last year the Prince’s Trust helped over 3500 young people in Scotland gain skills and find work.

It works with the age group from 14 to 25 who have struggled at school, been in care, are long term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

The trust is helping them gain vital work experience in key industries facing skills shortages.

It has had long established support from the Royal Bank of Scotland and its economist David Fenton said a strong economy and low unemployment continued to mask the true cost of youth exclusion.

“With the right support, this lost generation can make a significant contribution to the health of the UK economy.”