Supporting young people’s transition from school to employment

In this article Nii Thompson, Divisional Director, shares how we are working with young people, careers educators and employers to ensure that young people benefit from the best available support to make informed career and education choices in London.

Almost a million (946,000) young people were not in education, employment or training (NEET) between July and September 2024, according to the latest estimates. The rate is increasing and accounts for 13.2% of all 16 to 24 year-olds in the UK.

The Government unveiled their plans last month to improve opportunities for young people to get the skills, opportunities and support they need in the Get Britain Working White Paper. These include a Youth Guarantee “to ensure all young people aged 18 to 21 are learning or earning”, to be spearheaded by eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England. These Trailblazers will be trialling the use of transition plans for young people who are disengaged or at risk.

At Reed in Partnership, we are part of the system to support young people to transition out of compulsory education.  We are delivering the Central London Careers Hub on behalf of the Greater London Authority and Careers and Enterprise Company, where we help careers educators and employers work together to ensure that young people in the capital benefit from the best available support opportunities to make informed career and education choices.

To date, more than 89% of Central London education institutions - including mainstream schools, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools, alternate provision and Further Education colleges - are part of the Central London Careers Hub, accounting for more than 142,000 11 to 18 year-olds.

This year, the Central London Careers Hub has worked with more than 300 volunteers - industry professionals working directly with schools and colleges or participating in careers activities - to improve careers provision for young Londoners.

Innovation and adaptability have been key to our delivery as we have found there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to careers education provision. Providing accessible resources, understanding and supporting diverse educational needs and promoting inclusivity have all been integral parts of our approach to date. Here’s three ways we’ve enhanced our service:

• More than 8,300 young people tuned in to our latest live broadcast, Next Steps in London Live, designed to connect young people to a panel of professionals who provide insight into the pathways and opportunities available to them. We have expanded the project to include all London Careers Hubs so that more young people can benefit. We also launched Next Steps in London to guide young people through all their post-16 options.
• Our Autism Reality Experience, a virtual reality experience designed by autistic individuals for teachers. By the end of the project, over 200 teachers will have participated. This initiative aligns with the findings from the Buckland Review, which highlighted the need for better autism training for educators.
• In recognition of the unique challenges faced by care-experienced young people, we launched a virtual school online community of practice. Led by our Enterprise Coordinator, Jamie Fox, this project includes termly meetings to share resources and invite participation in events, aiming to improve educational outcomes for this group of young people.

The Careers Hub is a vital service for the future of our young people, and we will continue to do everything we can to improve careers education and increase access to opportunities for all young people.