“More reforms” to tackle the government’s spiralling problem of young people who are out of work or training will be announced in coming weeks, chancellor Rachel Reeves promised today.
In her spring statement, which appeared optimistic on government borrowing and inflation, Reeves also took aim at the Conservative’s legacy on apprenticeships and young people.
The chancellor said: “In the coming weeks I will set out more reforms to undo the Tory legacy of neglect and give young people the support and the opportunity that they deserve.”
She criticised the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) rising by 113,000 under the last five years of the Conservatives, alongside apprenticeships starts by young people falling by 40 per cent.
Details of government training due to be confirmed shortly include the youth guarantee work placement programme and short, levy-funded courses known as apprenticeship units.
Although a tight group of apprenticeship units on topics including engineering and construction is due to be launched in April, the government is yet to confirm their content, duration, funding bands or assessment arrangements.
The first phase of a subsidised ‘youth guarantee’ work placement programme is also due to start from next month, involving up to 1,200 young people aged 18 to 21 years old who have been on universal credit for 18 months or more.
The £820 million programme will run over the next three years, aiming to bring down the estimated 957,000 people who are NEET in England, about 12.8 per cent per cent of 16 to 24-year-old population.
Other reforms expected in the coming weeks include the government’s response to its consultation on new vocational qualifications, V Levels.
The spring forecast came alongside an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast of inflation falling to a two per cent target by late 2026 and government borrowing to fall from 4.3 per cent this year to 1.6 per cent by 2030-31.
However, the unemployment rate is forecast to rise from 4.75 per cent to 5.33 per cent, before falling to 4.1 per cent by 2030.
Economists at the OBR say the labour market weakness appears to be driven by entrants into the workforce “struggling to find work” as well as “subdued hiring demand”.
Emily Andrews, director of policy and research at Learning and Work Institute, said: “The chancellor did not make any policy announcements today, as she promised – but she said reform announcements were coming on youth employment.
“This is clearly one of the issues of greatest concern to her – much more so than the recent overall rise in the unemployment rate, which the OBR forecasts to peak in 2026 before falling back again by 2030.”
The government should also “extend” its youth guarantee eligibility to 24 years old, as the 21 to 24-year-old age group has “the highest NEET rates”.
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