Future Forward: supporting young people in West Yorkshire to thrive in the world of work

Funded through Pillar 3 (People and Skills) of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the Future Forward programme aimed to test innovative, evidence-based approaches to support economically inactive young people aged 16 to 24 who faced multiple barriers to progression into sustainable careers. In turn, funders expressed a need for an evidence-informed framework to guide them on their path towards best practice and design future provision. 

Future Forward worked closely with 310 young people across West Yorkshire’s five local authorities. The programme focused on those furthest from the labour market. Barriers commonly faced by our participants included: 

• poor mental health 
• low confidence 
• limited qualifications 
• unstable housing 
• financial hardship 
• a lack of access to transport, childcare, or local opportunities.  

Participants received holistic one-to-one support from trained advisers and benefited from access to a flexible fund to reduce digital, transport, and financial barriers. Marginalised groups such as care leavers, young people with SEND, and those from ethnic minority backgrounds were disproportionately represented. 

The programme was grounded in localised partnerships and a holistic, small-steps approach, enabling young people to re-engage on their own terms and progress toward sustainable education, employment, or training. By integrating local knowledge, continuous feedback, and tailored support, Future Forward sought not only to improve the life chances of individual people but also to generate system-wide learning. This informed the development of an evidence-based Quality Framework to guide future NEET provision in West Yorkshire and beyond. 

Which local authority pain points did Future Forward address? 

Future Forward was developed in response to a series of persistent and growing challenges WYCA faced in its efforts to reduce the number of NEET young people in West Yorkshire. The region has long recorded disproportionately high NEET rates. Despite considerable investment in youth support services, the overall NEET rate remained above the national average, with post-Covid-19 pandemic pressures further exacerbating youth disengagement, mental health issues, and school exclusions. 

One major structural issue for WYCA was the fragmented nature of existing provision. Local authorities, training providers, and voluntary sector organisations often did great work, but this was not always coordinated, with no unifying framework to coordinate support or measure impact. This made it difficult to ensure consistent, holistic support across the region. Additionally, many economically inactive young people experienced complex barriers that existing services often struggled to address fully within the scope of mainstream provision. 

Our solution to a complex set of challenges 

Positioned as a trusted delivery partner, we worked collaboratively with WYCA and its contained local authorities to design, deliver, and adapt innovative approaches, contributing directly to regional strategy on youth engagement and progression. We demonstrated strong alignment with WYCA priorities, including inclusive growth, youth employment, and reducing economic inactivity – particularly through targeted outreach to underrepresented groups and young people facing multiple disadvantages. 

Future Forward not only delivered tangible outcomes for young people but also helped WYCA develop a scalable, evidence-based model for future provision. The programme also recognised need for deeper insight and richer data to inform and strengthen WYCA’s region-wide strategy for supporting young people. 

The success of the pilots informed the creation three key strategic assets: 

• a comprehensive NEET Provision Mapping Report 
• an evidence-informed NEET Quality Framework for West Yorkshire 
• a ‘What Works Well for NEETs’ research paper, grounded in youth voice and practitioner insight. 

Placing youth voice at the heart of programme design and evaluation (through using focus groups or interactive workshops), each participant was supported through a personalised journey, beginning with diagnostic assessments and continuing with tailored one-to-one support from trained advisors. The programme also embedded flexibility, including access to a fund to cover digital equipment and travel costs. Additionally, EDT staff were seconded into local systems – most notably supporting the Leeds Pathways Team to tackle NEET tracking. 

Our wrap-around support, which was not directly participant-focused, also: 

• facilitated collaborative learning through communities of practice, engaging over 100 professionals to encourage knowledge exchange, shared accountability, and future system improvement 
• created long-term value beyond the programme lifecycle by providing learning resources and frameworks to guide future commissioning and youth support delivery 
• maintained strong compliance processes and a transparent relationship with WYCA, responding proactively to evolving delivery requirements, data needs, and shared learning opportunities 
• adapted rapidly to a short delivery window and complex landscape, demonstrating resilience, innovation, and partnership agility in the face of changing demands and compressed timelines. 

Among case study participants, 56% secured permanent employment and 44% achieved training or qualifications. Importantly, 80% reported improved confidence, and 28% noted positive mental health gains. 

By capturing rich quantitative and qualitative evidence, including participant voice, distance-travelled metrics, and outcomes data, Future Forward enabled WYCA to better understand the lived realities of NEET young people. It provided both immediate impact and a long-term strategic asset: an evidence-based Quality Framework to guide more coherent, targeted NEET provision across the region. Through this, we addressed long-standing data gaps, which included a reduction of the number of young people with a 'Not Known' status for the Leeds Pathways Team by 17% – a fantastic achievement and well above the 10% target.

Direction of travel and future opportunities 

Future Forward laid strong foundations for long-term, system-wide change in how NEET young people are supported across West Yorkshire. The programme demonstrated the value of a collaborative, localised approach that blends local delivery with strategic oversight. The Quality Framework now offers WYCA a practical tool to embed good practice and inform consistent, joined-up provision for 16 to 24-year-olds across West Yorkshire. 

Programmes like Future Forward that are holistic, relational, and adaptable require investment beyond short pilot cycles to achieve lasting impact. WYCA’s leadership in commissioning innovative, evidence-led work provides a model that other local authorities can adopt and expand upon. Ultimately, Future Forward has shown what is possible when support is personalised, consistent, and rooted in local understanding. The next step is to embed and scale this approach, regionally and beyond, so that no young person is left behind.