Number of young people not in work, education or training ‘a scandal’ – minister

It is “an absolute scandal” that the number of young people not in employment, education or training is close to a million, a minister has said.

The number of so-called “neets” aged 16 to 24 remains more than 940,000, latest Office for National Statistics figures showed on Thursday, which skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith described as “a waste of young lives”.

Speaking to the PA news agency as she visited Mulberry University Technical College (UTC) in east London, Baroness Smith said: “It’s absolutely shocking that we have young people who, at the very start of their working life are not learning, and they’re not earning.

“That is an enormous waste of talent, and really an outrage that young people are being left in that position.

“But it’s also a waste for the future of the country because when you start not in employment or learning, it’s going to be much more difficult for you to get into work later.”

She said the Government is “absolutely focused” on how it can “turn this around” citing the youth guarantee, which is set to ensure 18 to 21-year-olds have access to education, training, an apprenticeship or ultimately guaranteed paid work if they cannot find a job.

“We’re absolutely serious that it is an absolute scandal,” Baroness Smith said.

“It’s a waste of young lives.”

Baroness Smith was shown around the UTC, for students aged 14 to 19, which specialises in technical subjects.

She said making sure that there are “the sorts of courses that will attract young people”, like the ones at the UTC, is one way the Government will bring down the number of neets.

“We’re developing youth hubs, for example, that bring together all of the services, the employment support, but also perhaps mental health support, wellbeing, helping young people with careers advice and guidance,” she added.

“We’re putting them into the places where young people are more likely to go – sports clubs, libraries, community areas – so bringing together that range of support for young people to get into work.”

The trust which Mulberry UTC is part of partners with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix to deliver a programme offering students extra-curricular activities in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).

Asked whether the Government is incentivising other companies to help get more young people into education, employment or training, Baroness Smith said: “There’s every incentive for the sorts of partners that we’ve seen here at the UTC so Mercedes, the National Theatre, to work with schools and colleges, because you’re giving something to young people but what you’re doing is you’re providing a pipeline of future employees.

“So what we find, for example, in T-levels, and I’ve seen T-levels in creative media, what you see in those subjects is where young people get to have an industrial placement with an employer.

“They get a fantastic amount out of it, but the employer also gets to see the type of young people who they’ll then potentially be able to employ or to give apprenticeships to in the future.”