Youth Futures Foundation has responded to the King’s Speech which took place today (Wednesday 17 July 2024).
The scale of the challenge for young people today is evident – 900,000 young people, or 1 in 8, are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and many are experiencing the scarring effects of being left out of opportunities to earn or learn long-term. These rates are the highest they have been in 8 years.
We welcome several measures set out in the King’s Speech as an opportunity to address the challenges of getting into and succeeding in employment, as well as a focus on additional barriers including mental health and children’s social care, but more needs to be done to turn the tide for all young people.
The Employment Rights Bill offers an opportunity to address some of the challenges faced by young workers. The proposal of a genuine living wage and focus on measures to improve good practice in the workplace is a positive step that will most significantly benefit marginalised young people.
We know that young people from an ethnically minoritised background face additional barriers in the workplace and the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill starts to address these. However, we recommend that all employers, regardless of size, must publicly report on ethnicity pay gaps, as well as overall representation, to ensure there is a greater understanding and visibility of what is happening at scale.
We also welcome the Skills England Bill, with the potential to streamline and strengthen skills planning, and importantly bring Mayoral Combined Authorities closer to national-level skills planning. There is an exciting opportunity to use the increased flexibility granted by the new Growth and Skills levy to fund training programmes that can effectively target young people who are most marginalised from the jobs market, and we are eager to work with the government to deliver this in a way that is evidence led.
We need to create a path towards a more equitable future for young people which helps their journey into education and employment. As the What Works Centre for Youth Employment, Youth Futures looks forward to continuing its work with Government to push for evidence led policies. Together we can ensure all young people, particularly those who are most marginalised, have the opportunity and support they need to access and thrive in the world of work.
