Burnham says youth employment and training crisis is a 'moral failure'

NEET is short for “not in education, employment or training.” It describes young people who are not studying, working, or receiving training. The term matters because being outside all three routes can mean losing access to skills, workplace experience, income, and a clearer path into adult life.

The article applies the label to people aged 16 to 24. Someone in this group could be unemployed and seeking work, or could be outside work and education for other reasons. The article does not provide a more detailed breakdown of the group.

The latest Office for National Statistics data cited in the article puts the number at almost one million. Prime Minister Andy Burnham calls this a crisis, arguing that many young people are being denied the chance to progress. The government plans to respond with more employment support, apprenticeships, and placements, while its review of young people and work is due next month.

The latest Office for National Statistics data cited in the article records almost one million people aged 16 to 24 as NEET. That means they are not in education, employment, or training. The figure shows that the issue affects a very large group of young people, rather than being limited to a small number of individual cases.

The article presents this number as evidence of a generation being denied opportunities to move forward. It links the total to concerns about lost skills, limited job prospects, and the way public support is currently delivered. Alan Milburn describes the rate as shameful and says the system is not delivering the jobs young people want.

The figure is driving proposed action. Ministers are expected to announce tens of thousands of apprenticeships and placements. Andy Burnham also says welfare should begin with a young person’s ambitions and required help, rather than starting with benefit entitlement.

The proposed change is a shift from paying benefits after an assessment toward helping young people reach work. Andy Burnham says welfare should begin by asking about a person’s ambitions and the support needed to achieve them. Benefits would remain a safety net, but not the starting point for someone who could work with suitable help.

The article describes the current system as providing an assessment, a payment, and then goodbye. The new approach would offer more skills support and clearer opportunities to get a job. Ministers are also expected to announce tens of thousands of youth apprenticeships and placements in construction, accounting, consulting, and legal firms.

A full review of young people and work, led by Alan Milburn, is due next month. Milburn supports moving money from benefits toward employment support. The government says it has a duty to help people work, while retaining the safety net for those who cannot.

The prime minister identifies several connected causes of the NEET crisis. He points to two years of Covid lockdowns, social media that can erode confidence and belonging, and an education system focused too heavily on the university route. He also highlights too few opportunities in job markets and failures by previous governments.

Together, these factors are presented as barriers between young people and work or training. For example, an education system centred on university may offer fewer visible routes into apprenticeships or practical careers. Meanwhile, limited vacancies can make the first step into employment harder. The article does not assign a precise share of responsibility to any one factor.

Burnham says the result is a generation denied its chance to get on in life. The government’s planned response is greater employment support and more placements. The forthcoming review by Alan Milburn is expected to provide recommendations for addressing the wider problem.

Remaining outside education, employment, and training can leave young people without the skills, experience, or opportunity needed to move into jobs. The article describes this as a generation being denied its chance to get on in life. It frames the issue as both a personal setback and a national problem.

The economic mechanism is straightforward in the article’s account: fewer young people moving into work means fewer opportunities are being developed, while the welfare system continues paying benefits. Alan Milburn says the government spends 25 times more on benefits for young people than on getting them into work. He calls the current NEET rate shameful.

Burnham therefore labels the crisis an economic catastrophe and moral failure. The government wants to redirect support toward employment and skills. Apprenticeships, placements, and the forthcoming review could shape the next response, although the article does not quantify their eventual economic effect.

The government is offering routes that combine work opportunities with skills development. The article highlights tens of thousands of new youth apprenticeships and placements. These are intended to give young people alternatives to an education system seen by Burnham as too focused on the university route.

The planned opportunities cover construction, accounting, consulting, and legal firms. Construction placements can provide an entry into an industry outside conventional office work. The professional placements offer another route into careers that might otherwise seem accessible mainly through university. The article does not give detailed terms for each scheme.

These options are part of a wider attempt to replace a benefits-first approach with practical help toward employment. Alan Milburn argues that most young people want a job if opportunities and support are available. Ministers are expected to release the plans this week, while the full review of young people and work is due next month.

Labour markets connect people seeking work with employers offering jobs. Education and training help people build skills for those jobs. Welfare systems can provide a safety net when people cannot work or are between opportunities. Together, these systems work best when income support is linked to realistic routes into employment.

The article describes a problem when welfare stops at assessment and payment. Burnham says young people too often receive no support, skills offer, or job opportunity afterward. His proposed mechanism reverses the order: begin with ambitions, identify needed help, provide skills or placements, and then support a move into work. The article does not explain every labour-market process.

The safety net would remain for people unable to work. For those who can work with help, Burnham says government has a duty to make that possible. Milburn proposes shifting money from benefits toward employment support, while new apprenticeships and placements would expand routes into paid work.