The government’s Get Britain Working white paper rightly focuses on tackling economic inactivity, particularly among young people. It reflects years of work to identify the causes of and solutions to youth unemployment, but will it be enough?
With NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) levels nearly reaching the one million mark and youth confidence plummeting, as highlighted in our Youth Voice Census, the proposed Youth Guarantee (offering a job, training or apprenticeship within six months) is a crucial intervention.
Youth Employment UK has been at the forefront of advocating for comprehensive youth employment support for 12 years. Our research, particularly our work with the Youth Employment Group, has directly contributed to shaping national policy discussions on youth unemployment. Seeing this commitment reflected in the paper is a testament to the collective efforts of those dedicated to improving the prospects of young people.
Being NEET is more than just a statistic; it’s a complex problem with far-reaching consequences for both individuals and society. The reasons behind this rise are varied. They range from economic challenges, mental health struggles, and lack of access to quality education or job opportunities, to regional disparities.
Therefore, it is positive to see the white paper acknowledge the magnitude of different causes of youth unemployment and prioritise preventative measures early on in a young person’s life. These include offering work experience and careers advice, tackling persistent absence, improving access to mental health services and trialling the development of transition plans.
We know spending any time NEET when you’re young has a detrimental impact on young people’s future employment prospects. Therefore, the Youth Guarantee is a fundamental step in ensuring young people begin their careers on the right footing.
Recognising this guarantee must translate into quality opportunities that lead to sustainable careers and genuine social mobility. To that end, it is encouraging that the white paper is taking a cross-departmental approach, particularly on joining up national and local efforts.
The eight trailblazers announced this week will test and pilot a collaborative, cross-sector effort that will bring together employers, education providers and young people to provide quality pathways for all. This is welcome.
It must translate into quality opportunities for all young people
However, while the white paper acknowledges the complexity of the problem and the breadth of necessary solutions, the current Youth Guarantee is narrow and could potentially exclude young people during key transition points aged 24 and under.
For young people excluded from the guarantee (which promises only to focus on 18- to 21-year-olds), the consequences are severe. Becoming or remaining NEET at any young age can impact mental health and future earning potential.
Meanwhile, the trailblazers are currently planned to be trialled in mayoral authorities that currently serve only 48 per cent of England’s population. This will exclude many areas with high youth unemployment and deprivation rates.
While we look forward to seeing the evidence from the trailblazers, we hope their expansion will happen sooner rather than later and be carefully considered to ensure inclusivity.
Youth Employment UK is driven by social value. For 12 years, we have led the way in bringing youth and employer voice and insight together and in connecting quality opportunities through our digital offer. We believe that investing in young people is not just an economic imperative, but a moral one.
As such, we see a successful Youth Guarantee not only as an important tool to reduce youth unemployment but also a vital contribution to a fairer and more prosperous society.
This week’s Get Britain Working white paper provides a strong foundation to meet those objectives. Now, it’s time to turn ambition into action. As it does so, we urge the government to continue to work closely with organisations like ours, education providers, employers, and – importantly – young people themselves.
For this guarantee to deliver a brighter future for the next generation, it must meet the complexity of the problem with inclusivity, and its local manifestations with nationwide endeavour.
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