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'Neet labels people as absent - which they are not'

Andy GillNorth West
News imageBBC Rushid has long black hair and a beard and is wearing glasses, a blue and white shirt and a brown zipped top. He is standing in front of a white banner which says "bridging the mental health gap" in black letters.BBC
Rushid Afzali said the term Neet wrongly labels young people as being absent

Young people are being stigmatised by the language used around youth unemployment, a mental health charity has claimed.

The Merseyside-based Be Free Campaign said "Neet" - which stands for Not in Employment, Education or Training - portrayed young people in a negative light.

It suggested a better term could be "Leet", to acknowledge how young people are Looking for Employment, Education or Training.

The Be Free Campaign's youth development officer Rushid Afzali said young people were "tired of being labelled and... being put into a category that is labelling them as absent, labelling them as something they are not."

'Passion and knowledge'

Afzali added: "A word won't solve inequality, but it can stop reinforcing it.

"The first step towards system change is acknowledging the issue, and the issue is that there's nearly a million young people who are not in employment, education, or training.

"But each one of those young people have got a story, have got the skills, the passion, and the knowledge.

"Unfortunately, the systems aren't there to support them in a way that is working."

News imageAmelia Wright has long, light brown hair and is wearing dark-framed glasses, a black top, black cardigan and two necklaces with large pendants. She is standing in front of a board which has #NEET to LEET written in chalk alongside the message BE FREE.
Amelia Wright said she had been looking for work for three years

Amelia Wright, from the Dingle area of Liverpool, has been looking for work for about three years.

She said the small change in name could make a big difference.

"It will give me a lot more hope - confidence in myself - that I can find something that is something out there.

"People know that I am looking for employment or education.

"One word change does so much, especially in terms of self-confidence."

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