Youth NEET levels remain stubbornly high, highlighting need for sustained action

“The latest figures show that around 981,000 young people across the country are currently locked out of earning or learning – the highest figure for this quarter since 2013. This is a stark reminder that, despite small fluctuations in the data, the youth employment challenge remains a large, long-term problem.

“Hundreds of thousands of young people are continuing to miss out on the opportunity to earn, learn and build a secure future, leaving long-term scarring effects on their wellbeing, health and earning prospects. But behind the statistics are young people facing real and often complex barriers to entering and staying in education, training and employment.

“The Government has started to rightly focus on expanding technical pathways, building on its delivery of the Youth Guarantee. It has also set out a strong, positive direction of travel on strengthening links between young people and employers. However, as anticipation grows ahead of Alan Milburn’s final Young People and Work report, these figures provide another clear signal that system-level reform is essential, if we’re to see numbers fall sustainably. This will require long-term action from Government, employers, education and training providers, local communities and more.

“We need to build on what works, using evidence to target action where it is needed most and making sure every young person can access the right support and opportunities to move forward.”

Chris Goulden, Deputy CEO at Youth Futures Foundation