A rising number of young people are locked out of the labour market; this piece outlines the scale of the problem and realistic ways to reconnect education, health and employers
The scale of the issue is striking: nearly a million young people in Britain are classified as NEET — not in education, employment or training — roughly one in eight 16 to 24-year-olds. More than half of that group have never worked a single day, while six in ten are recorded as economically inactive rather than unemployed.
Around half of NEET young people report a health condition, frequently mental health issues or autism, and claims for health and disability benefits by young people have nearly doubled in six years. All of this suggests a structural failure to convert school-based learning into sustainable work.
Part of the breakdown is visible inside everyday life: the informal, entry-level opportunities that used to teach workplace basics are fading. Retail work, historically the largest employer of teenagers and young adults, has been shrinking for a decade. Customers scan their own groceries, diners use apps instead of waiting staff, and firms automate routine office tasks.
At the same time, only one in five teachers believe the current exam-centred system prepares students properly for employment. Last year six in ten young people reported doing no work experience at all. The result is a generation arriving at adulthood with qualifications but without the practical experience and references that once formed the first rung on a career ladder.
Why young people are getting stuck
Several intertwined obstacles prevent many young people from moving into sustained work. First, affordability is a persistent constraint: even if training is free, related costs — travel, kit, food and foregone earnings — can make participation impossible for those without family support. Second, an experience trap locks candidates out because employers frequently require prior experience for entry-level roles, while access to that experience often depends on unpaid placements or personal contacts. Third, inconsistent careers advice and fragmented support mean many young people lack the guidance or networks to navigate transitions. Finally, local factors such as transport and the geographic distribution of jobs shape opportunity, so national programmes that ignore place risk producing postcode lotteries in access to work.
Health, confidence and the search for work
Health problems and confidence erosion amplify these barriers. Many young people who are NEET want to work but face obstacles that make job-hunting unrewarding: unanswered applications, unclear pathways and welfare interactions that can penalise transitions into training. The human cost is clear in accounts of young applicants sending dozens or hundreds of applications with little or no response — a pattern that saps self-belief. Despite public narratives of apathy, data show energy and persistence: nearly a third of NEETs apply for jobs they do not even want, and one in five report applying every single day. What looks like disengagement is often sheer exhaustion and frustration with a system that offers few tangible openings.
Fixing the pathway from school to work
Reversing this trend requires action on several fronts. Employers must re-engage with the entry-level pipeline through meaningful work experience, apprenticeships and supported internships. Classroom confidence translates into workplace competence only when young people can practise communication, collaboration and adaptability on the job. The state should make it simpler and less risky for firms to hire and train school leavers: targeted incentives, funding to cover participation costs and clearer referrals can boost take-up. Equally important is redesigning public services so they do not process young people into separate silos; the current maze — where schools, health services and jobcentres each assume another will act — leaves crucial gaps for vulnerable young people to fall through.
Practical steps to rebuild the first rung
Practical measures that align with employers’ needs and young people’s realities include restoring the availability of entry-level roles, subsidising costs that prevent participation, and ensuring careers advice begins earlier and is consistent. Training routes need to be geographically accessible and linked to local demand — especially as green jobs and retrofit roles expand in certain regions — so travel and transport do not become new barriers. The welfare system should be restructured to support gradual transitions into work rather than creating cliff edges where households are worse off. Crucially, employers and government must share responsibility: firms should commit to hiring and mentoring, while public policy removes obstacles and rewards investment in young talent.
Why acting matters now
Failing to act risks creating a cohort permanently detached from productive employment: the social and economic costs would be large in benefit payments, lost taxes and, most importantly, wasted human potential. Lessons from past industrial decline show the long-term harm of moving people onto incapacity benefits instead of rebuilding opportunity. The independent review into young people and work led by Alan Milburn aims to confront uncomfortable truths about education, welfare and employment practices. If policymakers, schools and businesses can align around restoring the first job as a meaningful stepping stone — backed by coherent support for those with health needs — Britain can avoid a lost generation and open up pathways to good work for many more young people.
