Rise in young people not in work or education could fill Man Utd's Old Trafford stadium

Next week a new generation will be lacing up their shoes to go back to sixth form, college, apprenticeships or their first jobs. But for a significant number of young people, a different path awaits.

‌The latest NEET figures released by government on 22 August show a 74,000 rise in 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training over the last 12 months. That’s the same number of young people as would fit into Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium and that’s just the increase. The total number is more than ten times that.

More than one in 10 young people in this age group (12.2%) who should be excited about the next stage of their lives are now not in education, a workplace or training for a career and of the 872,000 young people in the NEET category, 62% are economically inactive, meaning they are not actively looking for work, training or education opportunities. This has an obvious impact on the country’s growth and productivity.

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In his Downing Street speech, Keir Starmer pledged to “give every child wherever they come from, whatever their background the chance to go as far as their talents will take them”.

As CEO of the youth charity OnSide, which sees 55,000 young people through the doors of our 15 youth centres – known as Youth Zones – every year, I hear incredible stories from across our network of the courage, strength, confidence and resilience demonstrated by the eight to 19 year olds we support.

But leaving school and finding yourself without any opportunities to continue your education or training, or find employment, can sap away those qualities quickly. The lazy option is to blame young people for their fate – they must be workshy and unwilling to even try is a refrain I often hear repeated.

In reality nothing could be further from the truth, and I have seen time and again that when given the right support, young people once classed as NEET can thrive.

Blackburn and Wigan are two towns that, a century ago, were thriving hubs of industrial activity. But as traditional manufacturing industries declined, so did the number of jobs, and both towns now have economic inactivity levels that are significantly higher than the national average.

But, both towns are also home to an OnSide Youth Zone, and these two Youth Zones are shining examples that demonstrate how when dedicated youth workers and excellent community facilities combine, young people receive outstanding support, and subsequently go on to successful careers and lives.

Blackburn Youth Zone launched their Youth Hub, designed primarily to tackle youth unemployment, in 2021. Specialist progress coaches design individually tailored programmes for each young jobseeker who’s referred to the service, and together each pair works on the young person’s confidence and resilience before moving on to CVs and mock interviews.

Coaches work closely with centre’s youth workers and will often recommend a young person attend a specific activity at the youth club to help them engage with others and build their confidence – drama workshops or art therapy, for example.

Everything is situated inside Blackburn Youth Zone, a colourful, vibrant and welcoming building. It’s in the town centre, easy to find on foot or by public transport, and has been specifically designed to both appeal to and meet the needs of young people.

Progress coaches can also use the Youth Zone’s facilities– including the sports hall – and that helps to break down barriers that may be holding young people back. We find that a chat with a coach about the challenges they’re facing over a game of badminton is far less intimidating for a young person than attending a formal meeting in an unfamiliar office with a stranger – which is how the Jobcentre can feel for young people trying to enter the world of work for the first time.

The results speak for themselves – progress coaches in Blackburn have spent more than 2,300 hours in one-to-one sessions, supporting more than 800 young people since 2021 with 67% now in employment, education or training.

A little over 20 miles away at Wigan Youth Zone, we’ve been running a similar project. Specialist youth workers set up a mini-hub in the neighbouring town of Leigh, where young people were particularly vulnerable to falling into the NEET category.

Our coaches form close working relationships with the young people they support, building their confidence through workshops as well as activities in the Youth Zone, before going on to match them with volunteering placements and supporting them with applications and interviews.

In Wigan the team exceeded their targets for successful outcomes by more than 100% in the project’s first year, placing 116 young people into employment, education or training with employers like BAE, British Airways, AO and Morrisons.

It’s clear that this sort of tailored approach, delivered by the youth sector, is working. And we know the new government is looking for ways to unlock the creativity, productivity and potential of this lost generation of young people.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has noted that the “current system of employment support is designed to address the problems of yesterday – not today, tomorrow and beyond”, while former health secretary Alan Milburn, one of Keir Starmer’s closest advisors, has written a report into how to unlock the labour market after undertaking in-depth research into economic inactivity in Barnsley – the same town where OnSide will launch a brand new, £12m Youth Zone in 2025.

All our Youth Zones are funded and sustained by a mix of brilliant backers who believe, as we do, in young people. This collaborative approach pays dividends, with many of our supporters spotting previously overlooked talent and going on to employ the young people we work with in our employment projects.

We should celebrate the achievements fo all those who attained strong grades in the GCSEs but we should also be aware there will be thousands of 16-year-old who didn’t jump for joy at their exam results.

But I believe that with the right support for our young people we can turn this around and enable many more to unlock their potential – and that the youth sector is well placed to deliver these opportunities. But it won’t just happen. Real change will need energy and investment – not just from government, but from business, philanthropists and local communities too.

I know that together we can rescue this lost generation and give them, and our country, the future they deserve.

Jamie Masraff is the CEO of national youth charity OnSide.

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