Youth unemployment in the UK has passed one million. Two thirds of NEET young people say school didn’t prepare them for work. Here’s what they said actually matters, and how Baytree is responding.
Nearly one million young people in the UK, one in eight of all 16 to 24 year olds, are currently NEET: not in education, employment or training. Alan Milburn’s review of the crisis, published this year, warns that on current trends the figure could pass 1.25 million within five years.
In London, the picture is worse still. The latest figures show 24.6% of young Londoners are out of work, almost one in four, the highest rate of any region in the UK.
It’s not the qualifications
Milburn’s review didn’t just count NEET young people. It asked them.
Two thirds, 67% said the school curriculum had failed to prepare them for work. Asked what actually helps someone get a job, 64% pointed to speaking skills, ahead of technical skills or qualifications at 60%.
The education system produces qualifications but does not guarantee transitions.
Alan Milburn, Young People and Work interim report
That’s young people diagnosing their own experience. What they’re describing is a system that leaves them with the right grades and still no idea how to walk into an interview, hold a conversation with someone they’ve just met, or back themselves when they don’t know the answer.
The confidence gap
None of that shows up on a league table, so it rarely gets taught with any real intention. This is exactly the gap Baytree exists to close.
Sparking Futures
Sparking Futures is our employability programme for girls aged 14 and up, built around the things school often leaves out: confidence, practical skills, and real exposure to the world of work.
It includes:
Work experience and career insight days. Held during the school holidays, these give young women hands-on experience and a genuine look inside a career and workplace they’re considering.
Career Champions. Each young woman is matched with a professional working in a field aligned with her own ambitions, who offers one to one guidance and practical support.
Monthly professional development sessions, 18+. Running every month, these sessions build the personal and professional skills that improve someone’s chances in work and in life, the kind no exam tests for.
Young volunteering. A three month, weekly commitment supporting our after school clubs, giving young women real experience working with children while giving something back to their own community.
The landscape has completely changed, and much of the structural issues contributing to these figures are out of young people’s hands. However, by raising the age of our employability programme and teaching the girls core life and employability skills to instil their confidence in navigating the challenges and changes they face within the current labour market, we aim to do our bit in bringing these numbers down.
Apithanie, Youth Programme Lead for Life Skills and Employability
Find out more about Sparking Futures and how it can help you build confidence for the world of work.
Offer a work placement, a Career Champions match, or support the programme another way.
