Budget 2025: A big step forward for young people

In this week’s budget, the Chancellor announced major commitments to young people through support for two flagship initiatives: the Growth and Skills Levy and the Youth Guarantee scheme. Our Deputy Operations Director, Nick Morgan, gives his insight on the upcoming changes.

What’s changing?

• Six-month paid work placements for every eligible 18–21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and seeking work for 18+ months
• Fully funded SME apprenticeships for eligible people under 25

We welcome the government’s investment in the Growth and Skills Levy and applaud the inclusion of wraparound support and onboarding costs in the Youth Guarantee budget. These measures show a commitment to not just jobs, but sustainable employment. It also demonstrates learning from the Kickstart scheme which created jobs for young people during the Covid pandemic, which, although successful, was less so for young people with additional support needs such as health conditions or other disadvantages.

The challenge ahead

Despite these positive steps, nearly one million young people remain NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Tackling this requires a joined-up approach between government, education providers, health services, employers, and communities.

At Reed in Partnership, we deliver targeted youth programmes that break down barriers and provide:

• High-quality employment support
• Best-in-class careers education
• Real-world experiences

Three priorities for future policy

1. Prevention

   We need to focus on prevention and strengthening support at school stage, whether that’s mental health support, careers education or family support. For example, careers education is key to preventing disengagement, with the benefits evidenced to be stronger for the most disadvantaged young people.

   Through our delivery of the Central London Careers Hub for the Greater London Authority, we currently reach 95% of Central London schools and colleges, helping young people build confidence, skills, and networks. We see firsthand through this the impact of helping young people to build the confidence, skills and networks they need to shape their future.

   Government must invest in joined-up, early prevention to stop young people from falling out of education and employment pathways.

2. Rapid response

   Our experience with programmes like the post-pandemic Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) service was that fast-paced, early engagement works well for 18–24-year-olds, for whom long periods out of work can have a particularly severe scarring effect on employment outcomes. A recent evaluation of the JETS programme concluded that “the type of employment support offered by JETS is particularly beneficial among young claimants”.

   We’re applying this learning to deliver the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer for Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, where a Youth Forum is guiding delivery of the pilot, putting young people at the heart of how it works.

   Making sure we learn and gather practical insights from the Trailblazers as we go – particularly from young people directly - will give the wider Young People’s Guarantee the best chance of success. Getting in touch with young people quickly when they fall off the map is a critical counterweight to the guaranteed job after 18 months on Universal Credit.

3. In-work support

   The wraparound support in the Youth Guarantee is a promising step, but sustaining employment can be a particular challenge for young people once they have found a job, especially for young people with health challenges.

   Poor workplace experiences can derail future engagement: the Keep Britain Working Review highlighted the long-term impact if young people fail to thrive in work.

   That means as a sector we need to do more to support young people into the best quality jobs we can and help them to progress. Government can help by designing in-work support into the services we deliver.

Looking ahead

We are keen to collaborate across the sector to ensure that we support our young people to get the support they want, when they need it.

The budget announcements are a great starting point, but sustained investment and collaboration are essential to build a future where every young person can access meaningful work and thrive.