ABSTRACT
During the post-war period successive governments, with the exception of the present administration, have accepted an increasingly interventionist role in order to guide the performance of the economy and to shape our industrial structure. The response of the trade-union movement has been critically dependent upon the intentions and consequences which have been ascribed to interventionist policies. This chapter traces some of the key elements which have underpinned and fashioned the trade-union approach to the young unemployed. The established trade-union view of young people in the labour market has emphasised consistently the need for more attention to be paid by government and employers alike to job related training and education for young workers. The growth in the service sector has depended crucially upon a parallel growth in government expenditure on public services.
