Britain’s NEET rate looks better than it did twenty years ago. That should be reassuring. It isn’t. In late 2005, around a million 16-24-year-olds were not in education, employment or training, a rate of 14.4 per cent. By late 2025 the count was slightly smaller and the rate had fallen to 12.8 per cent. But roughly six in ten of that group had never held a paid job, against four in ten twenty years earlier: some 155,000 more young people with no work history at all. The problem has not widened. It has deepened. Something specific has disappeared. Young people employed outside full-time education fell from about 48 per cent of the age group in 2001 to 38 per cent in 2025. The Saturday job, the holiday shift, the weekend work alongside college: this was how a work history was built before one was needed. A young person who becomes NEET today arrives with nothing to show an employer. Become a member for unlimited access to FE Week Our members enjoy early access to exclusive content and in-depth articles before anyone else. Get expert journalism on FE and skills, experience fewer ads, and unlock a growing range of member benefits. subscribe If you have an account, please login. Sign in