UK government extends Youth Guarantee trailblazer scheme, but are young people being left behind?

Last week, The Guardian reported that the NEET population has grown by a quarter in the past five years to reach almost 1 million. The publication of these figures in a week where young people received GCSE, and Level 1 and 2 vocational results, starkly highlights the risk of too many young people being left behind. 

Based on our extensive experience, we believe this funding needs to be available to a range of services nationally and locally to support those who may fall outside of traditional education routes. Support should reflect the diversity of the individuals it aims to reach: individuals' education and opportunities will not always follow a linear pathway, and therefore support must be embedded at each stage of an individual's education journey, focusing on prevention first where possible. Our evidence-based Quality Framework to guide good practice – using insights from our Future Forward programme – provides a responsive, equitable, and personalised approach to improving outcomes and shaping effective NEET support strategy at local and regional levels. 

Employers and providers have a crucial role to play. Expanding apprenticeships and jobs that are accessible and locally relevant is essential. The government must ensure that available support is equitable across the country, so that young people are not at risk of falling foul of a funding 'postcode lottery'. We call on the government to publish the outputs of the Trailblazer funding and its long-term plan for reducing the numbers of NEET young people, as well as bridging the known NEET unemployment gap. 

Although NEET reduction solves the end of the problem, we believe prevention is the best approach. On our Dorset Marvels programme, our work enabled an average of 84.5% of the young people we worked with to sustain their post-16 destination. Success was achieved by gaining the trust of parents, carers, and young people; providing early intervention; and changing the narrative from 'achieving better GCSE grades' to 'achieving your best next step'. We would welcome further investment that prioritises not only reducing NEET but preventing it from the outset.