This April, the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the UK surpassed one million. This shocking milestone has prompted renewed debate about how we can best support young people into work. But too often, the discussions around this topic focus on addressing barriers individually, including skills, education levels, reduced entry-level roles or mental health challenges.
Since 2021, I have led Maximus’ delivery of the Restart Scheme across West Yorkshire, where we have worked with thousands of young people to help them move closer to employment. When it comes to the NEET issue, one key lesson stands out: youth unemployment is rarely the result of a single barrier. Instead, it reflects a combination of interconnected structural, practical, work-related and individual factors.
To explore the issue further, Maximus brought together local voices from across West Yorkshire for several workshops and roundtables. This included a large group of young people, major regional employers and other stakeholders from across the region for a series of workshops and events. While a range of issues were discussed, a common theme emerged: tackling youth unemployment requires strong local partnerships and services designed around the realities of local communities. Employment support, skills provision, education, health services and employers all have a role to play, but their impact is greatest when they work together.
The findings reinforce a simple but important point that success depends on a range of different stakeholders working to build local partnerships, creating clearer routes into work and addressing potential barriers with support that continues long after someone starts a job.
West Yorkshire already has many of the foundations in place through initiatives such as the West Yorkshire Promise and the Trailblazer programmes. With further devolution underway, the opportunity now is to build on that progress and create a system that gives every young person a genuine pathway into sustainable employment.
Identifying barriers
Earlier this summer, we brought together over 40 young people to a workshop hosted alongside the Yorkshire Youth Work Unit and Leeds Beckett University to discuss the barriers they faced to employment, as well as running an employer workshop led by Leeds Headingley MP, Alex Sobel.
Perhaps the most striking finding across the two sessions was the degree of agreement between employers and young people. While discussions around youth employment often frame the challenge as a mismatch between employer expectations and young people’s aspirations, participants from both groups identified many of the same barriers.
The strongest area of agreement related to the availability of entry-level opportunities. Young people described difficulties securing work without prior experience, while employers acknowledged that rising employment costs and economic uncertainty are making businesses more cautious about recruitment, leading many to favour experienced candidates. Both groups recognised that this dynamic contributes to an increasingly challenging cycle in which young people struggle to gain the experience needed to enter the labour market.
There was also broad consensus around the transition from education into employment. Young people called for greater support, be it through access to work experience, mentoring or pathways into work. At the employer roundtable, a number of organisations expressed concerns that young people are often leaving education without sufficient exposure to workplaces, employability skills or practical experience. Both groups identified a disconnect between education and employment as a key challenge.
Mental health, confidence and wellbeing emerged as another area of strong alignment. Young people highlighted interview anxiety, low confidence and communication challenges as barriers to employment. Another clear focus was the need for ongoing support once a job had been started. Employers reported similar concerns, noting that anxiety and confidence issues can affect both recruitment and retention, and that support needs among young recruits have become increasingly complex.
Developing effective support
One of the most encouraging findings from our engagement with young people was not simply that they wanted to work, but that they remained optimistic about their future employment prospects. This reflects our experience delivering the Restart Scheme across West Yorkshire, where young people aged 18 to 24 consistently perform strongly. Nearly half achieve a job start, while around three in ten move into sustained employment, outperforming the wider all-age cohort on both measures.
These outcomes demonstrate that young people are capable of securing work when the right opportunities and support are available. The challenge is less about motivation and more about creating the conditions that enable young people to access, sustain and progress in employment. This was reflected throughout our discussions with employers and young people alike.
The discussions point towards a clear conclusion that improving outcomes will require actions across the education and employment ecosystem. While there is no single solution, several priorities stood out that in my view will help create more effective routes into work for young people across West Yorkshire.
First, we need to create more accessible pathways into employment. Both young people and employers recognised that a lack of entry-level opportunities is making it harder for individuals to gain the experience needed to enter the labour market. Expanding access to apprenticeships, work experience placements, supported internships, volunteering opportunities and entry-level jobs would help bridge this gap. These opportunities are not simply a route into paid employment, but they provide important “soft” skills, boosting self-confidence and workplace experience needed to build successful careers over the longer term.
Support from employers and employment support providers should not end when a job starts either. We have seen with this cohort that sustaining a job can be the issue as opposed to actually finding one. Holistic support is required that looks at factors like mental health, wellbeing and other pressures that may stop young people from remaining in work, such as high transport costs.
Second, there is a need for a more integrated employment and skills support system. The barriers facing young people rarely exist in isolation. We heard firsthand that employment outcomes are shaped by a combination of factors. Support services should therefore be designed around individual needs, bringing together employment, skills, health and wider support in a coordinated way. By providing joined-up support, organisations can help young people overcome the challenges that may prevent them from finding and sustaining work.
There is also an opportunity to strengthen collaboration across the West Yorkshire region. Developing and building on forums that bring together employers, colleges, employment support providers, Jobcentre Plus and government partners would improve coordination across the system. These partnerships could share labour market intelligence, identify emerging challenges and work together to support young people who are NEET, or at risk of becoming NEET, before they become disconnected from education or employment. This aligns to one of our key findings from delivering Restart, that early intervention to ensure support reaches young people has the greatest impact.
Finally, stronger links between education, skills and employment systems are essential. Employers consistently highlight the importance of workplace readiness, employability skills and practical experience, while young people often report uncertainty about available career pathways. Closer collaboration between employers, schools, colleges and training providers can help ensure young people develop the skills local employers need and are supported through smoother transitions from education into sustainable employment. By aligning these systems more effectively, we can create clearer pathways into work and better outcomes for young people across West Yorkshire.
