During school and university, I spent my summers in Glasgow working in pizza parlours and chip shops, stacking books in the library, checking in and boarding passengers at Glasgow Airport, mixing cocktails and all manner of restaurant work.
I needed the money. But those jobs also taught me how to deal with people, how to take responsibility, turn up on time and get on with the task in front of me. They showed me what it means to be part of a team, and they left me with a lasting respect for the people who keep businesses running.
If you were willing to work, a summer job wasn’t hard to find.
That is no longer the case. Young people are taking fewer summer jobs than my generation did, but not for want of interest. The young people I meet are keen to earn and to learn. The problem is that the openings have dried up. Figures from Indeed show summer job vacancies in the UK were 31 per cent lower this year than in 2025, and far below their recent peak.
I saw that appetite first hand when I ran a parliamentary summer school this summer for 16- to 19-year-olds from South Leicestershire. Applications were strong, and those who took part gained a useful insight into public life. But a short programme in Westminster is not the same as a paid job. Several of those who came told me they wished there were more chances for paid work during the holidays.
Seasonal work is important for both sides. Hospitality, tourism, leisure, retail and farming all see sharp summer peaks. For students, a few weeks behind a counter, in a kitchen or on a farm is often the first real taste of earning a wage and answering to an employer. For many, it is the first rung on the career ladder.
Employers, though, have become more cautious about taking on young or inexperienced staff for a short season. Higher costs and extra employment requirements weigh particularly heavily on hospitality and tourism. If we make it expensive or complicated to hire someone for eight weeks, many businesses will simply not bother.
That is why we should cut taxes where we can, strip out unnecessary red tape, and remove rules that discourage short-term hiring. Sensible changes would include greater flexibility for young people to work on Sundays, extending the evening working window to 9pm, and ending permit requirements that get in the way of a first job.
A business should be able to take on extra help when demand rises. A young person should be able to take that job. We should not price the next generation out of work before they have even had the chance to get started.
