The Milburn review has, quite rightly, focused attention on young people and their employability. With approximately one million not in education, employment or training (NEETs), the case for action is clear. Yet much of the debate continues to focus on the supply side: preparing young people, building their skills and making them work-ready. These are important issues, but employers ultimately create the opportunities that young people move into, and there is a risk that we spend less time understanding what enables employers to create those opportunities in the first place. At The St Martin’s Group, we believe employer evidence should play a central role in shaping skills and employment policy. That is why we commissioned new research with the Learning and Work Institute. From Appetite to Opportunity: What employers need to recruit more young people draws on a survey of 1,039 HR decision makers, alongside reflections from our new Employer Insights Panel. This report is the first in a new series of employer insight research which will continue to provide timely, up to date evidence on current skills and employment to inform policy as it develops. The findings offer an important message for policymakers: employers want to recruit young people, but opportunity creation is uneven. The good news is that employer appetite remains strong. Almost a quarter of employers expect to increase their recruitment of young people over the next year, while only 12 per cent expect to recruit fewer. Employers continue to see value and potential in young talent, but opportunities are not evenly distributed. Three in ten large businesses expect to recruit more young people, compared with 14 per cent of small businesses, and a quarter of small firms do not expect to recruit any young person at all. Our research also found that newer businesses are more likely to increase their recruitment of young people than their longer-established counterparts. This raises an important question for policymakers. If growing businesses are more likely to create opportunities for young people, what can we learn from them? Understanding the conditions that support business growth, confidence and workforce expansion may be just as important as understanding the barriers to recruitment. Cost is certainly part of the picture. Employers cite training costs, wider financial pressures and limited staff time to supervise and support young recruits among their biggest barriers. A third say that financial incentives would make the biggest difference to their ability and willingness to recruit. But the challenge is not solely financial. Among those planning to recruit, small firms are less likely to expect to use apprenticeships (22 per cent against 43 per cent of large employers), even as new funding for non-levy employers fully covers training for eligible under-25 apprentices from August 2026. This points to differences in employer capability and confidence, as well as capacity. Some employers have developed the knowledge and processes needed to recruit and develop young people successfully, while others are less certain about where to start. That should shape the policy response. Government should continue to focus on helping young people access opportunities and reducing the cost and complexity faced by employers. Simplifying apprenticeships, providing greater clarity and ensuring that smaller employers can afford to participate remain important priorities. Our employer insights panel has consistently highlighted these issues. Alongside this, there may be value in thinking differently about how employers access support. Government should consider whether larger employers, who are often more familiar with apprenticeships, work experience and other structured routes into employment, can play a greater role as partners in the system. By sharing expertise, practical tools and proven approaches through supply chains and partner ecosystems, they could help more businesses build the confidence and capability needed to create opportunities for young people. One of the strongest messages from our research is that employers want to create opportunities. The challenge is turning that appetite into action and recognising that different employers need different forms of support to do so. We hope that the Milburn review will place greater focus on labour market demand and strike a better balance between preparing young people for work and helping employers to hire them.