By Charlotte Ndupuechi.
The publication of the recent report on young people who are not in education, employment or training should concern all of us.
Nearly one million young people across the UK are now classified as “NEET” – around one in eight of those aged 16 to 24.
Too often, discussions about young people focus on what they are supposedly lacking – motivation, aspirations or work ethic. Yet many young people are desperate for opportunities. They want to study, train and work, but the pathways into education and employment have become increasingly difficult to access.
Even the language we use deserves scrutiny. Some have suggested a different description: LEET – Looking for Education, Employment or Training. It highlights an important point: many young people are not choosing inactivity, but searching for a route into education, training or work and finding barriers in their way.
The real question, then, is not what is wrong with young people – but what opportunities are available to them?
Public transport costs continue to rise. Housing is increasingly unaffordable. Apprenticeships can be difficult to secure. Secure, well-paid jobs are often hard to find. Further and higher education comes with significant financial pressures. For many young people, the barriers are not a lack of ambition but a lack of opportunity.
I think it is time to restore the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). For many families, EMA provided practical support that enabled young people to remain in education, helping with travel and other essential costs and ensuring that financial circumstances did not determine educational opportunity.
Alongside restoring EMA, we should also look seriously at reintroducing maintenance grants and moving towards free tuition. Education should be viewed as a public investment in our future, not a financial burden placed upon young people at the start of their adult lives.
However, improving access to education is only part of the solution. We must also ensure that there are meaningful opportunities when young people complete their studies.
Britain needs a national strategy for creating real jobs – not temporary schemes or short-term initiatives, but secure, skilled employment that offers decent wages and prospects for progression.
This requires government to take a more active role in shaping the economy. We should be investing in infrastructure, housing, green energy and public services. We should also consider bringing essential industries such as water and rail back into public ownership.
For decades we have been told that privatisation would deliver better services and greater efficiency. Yet many people see rising bills, declining trust and underinvestment. Public ownership would allow profits to be reinvested in services, infrastructure and workforce development, as well as creating apprenticeships and long-term employment opportunities.
At the same time, we should not ignore the pressures facing older workers. Many people who have spent their lives working are now being asked to remain in employment for longer as the state pension age rises. There is a strong case for investing more in pensions and reconsidering pension age policy. Older workers deserve dignity and security in retirement, while younger generations deserve a fair chance to enter the workforce.
These issues are connected. Young people need opportunities to enter the labour market. Older people deserve security and dignity in retirement. Both require a long-term vision for the economy and a commitment to investing in people rather than managing decline.
The rising number of young people classified as NEET should be a wake-up call. It is not a sign that a generation has failed, but that successive governments have failed to provide enough pathways into education, training and employment.
If we are serious about giving young people a future, we need more than concern. We need action: restore EMA, reintroduce maintenance grants, make education accessible, invest in pensions, create secure jobs and rebuild public ownership where it serves the national interest.
Britain’s young people do not need lectures about aspiration. They need opportunities. It is time we started providing them.
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