Insight: Making all routes into work better

Our newly published paper, 'A three-lane superhighway into work', is our contribution to the current debate on how to address the rising number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Our Managing Director Donna Murrell explores the way forward:

The Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has put a timely spotlight on the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and provided a welcome signal of urgency. His early emphasis on the long-term risks of young people missing out on a productive first step into adult life has helped sharpen national attention. The decision to commission a review of the increasing number of young people who are NEET, led by Alan Milburn, reinforces that sense of focus. Our new paper, ‘A three-lane superhighway into work’, aims to make a constructive contribution to that effort.

Concern about NEET levels has grown for good reason. Behind the statistics are young people with ambition, talent and potential who too often lack a clear, supported route into adult life and sustained work. If we are serious about tackling economic inactivity, productivity and addressing long-term inequality, this is the place to start.

In the UK, young people broadly move into adulthood via one of three lanes: university, apprenticeships or direct entry into work. All three matter. All three need to be credible, accessible and valued. Yet in practice, these lanes do not work equally well. The university pathway is well established and clearly signposted. Apprenticeships and direct employment routes, by contrast, remain more fragmented and harder to navigate. It is outside higher education that the risk of young people dropping out of work or learning is greatest.

Becoming NEET is rarely about a lack of drive or aspiration. More often, it happens when the system fails to offer clear next steps, timely support or a way back in when early opportunities don’t work out. A short spell of unemployment or low-quality work can quickly turn into something longer lasting. This is especially true for young people who face additional challenges such as mental health issues, neurodivergence or disadvantage linked to where they live.

Improving outcomes for young people means improving how these routes operate. That means making sure the pathways outside university are clearer, better connected and able to respond quickly when things go wrong, while allowing young people to move between routes without falling out altogether.

A central theme of our paper is the importance of nationally contracted employment support in strengthening these routes. Over the past decade, programmes such as the Restart Scheme, the Work and Health Programme and Job Entry Targeted Support have shown the value of intensive, personalised support delivered at scale. Their combination of consistent expert adviser relationships, employer engagement and in-work support is difficult to recreate through shorter term or piecemeal initiatives.

The Restart Scheme is a good example of why this kind of capability matters. Although it was designed to support people who have been unemployed for longer periods, many of its core features are highly relevant for young people at risk of becoming NEET. When early employment breaks down, access to joined-up, intensive support can make the difference between a temporary setback and a longer period out of work or learning. Recent programmes show that we do not need to continually reinvent the wheel. Instead, we should build on what has already been shown to work.

The Government’s Youth Guarantee is a significant and welcome commitment to keeping young people engaged in learning or work. But guarantees only succeed when the wider system supports them. Young people who need more intensive help must be able to access it quickly, and they must have clear, supported routes into sustained employment, training and skilled work. Nationally commissioned employment support has a vital role to play here.

For employers, this is not only a social challenge. With ongoing skills shortages and an ageing workforce, the health of the labour market depends on how effectively young people are supported to enter, stay in and progress in work. Investing in early careers, inclusive employment practices and progression is both economic necessity and a moral imperative.

This paper is intended as a contribution to an ongoing conversation with government, employers, providers and partners about building a system that works better for young people and for the economy. If we want a labour market that is resilient, inclusive and productive, strengthening the three-lane superhighway into adulthood is a good place to start.

Read the full paper here.