Britain has nearly a million lost young people and no system to fix it
Key Points
- Almost one million 16- to 24-year-olds in Britain are not in education, employment or training
- The UK has the third highest NEET rate among the 22 OECD member countries in the EU
- The Milburn Review interim report names rising ill health, weak vocational education, a hands-off benefits system and a weak labour market as the main drivers
- Resolution Foundation research shows young people who were NEETs earn less 20 years later than peers who were not
- Tackling the crisis will require cross-departmental coordination and significantly higher spending on employment support
Almost one million 16- to 24-year-olds in Britain are not in education, employment, or training, and the country has no single system in place to tackle it.
The Milburn Review interim report, published on Thursday (28 May), identifies rising ill health, limited vocational education, a hands-off benefits system and a weak labour market as the main drivers of the UK’s NEET rate, which now ranks third highest among the 22 OECD member countries in the EU.
The Resolution Foundation, which has welcomed the report’s analysis, said the country should be aiming to become one of Europe’s lowest NEET countries rather than one of its highest.
Resolution Foundation research shows the long-term effects on those affected are severe.
Young people who spend time as NEETs are more likely to be unemployed a decade later than peers who did not, and on average earn less 20 years on than those who moved into work or further study more easily.
Countries with the lowest NEET rates spend substantially more on employment support and active labour market policies than the UK.
The Netherlands and Germany are highlighted in the report as examples, with both governments running more comprehensive programmes than anything currently funded in the UK.
The Resolution Foundation said any meaningful effort to cut the UK’s NEET numbers will require coordination across multiple government departments and between central, regional and local authorities. No existing structure covers the full scope of the problem.
“It is encouraging to see how strongly the Milburn Review’s interim report recognises the gravity of the UK’s NEETs crisis. Our ambition should be that the UK becomes one of Europe’s lowest NEET countries rather than one of its highest,” said Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation.
“The report has grasped the key drivers of the UK’s high NEET rate, and the steps needed to tackle these: more engaged employment support, early intervention on mental health, and a greater focus on further education,” she said.
“But there are real fiscal and structural challenges ahead. There is no single system currently in place to solve this crisis, so the Government will need to develop a new approach that spans government departments as well as regional and local authorities, plus find the funding to truly turn the NEETs crisis around,” she said.
