Milburn interim review warns of ‘generational fault line’ as NEET numbers could hit 1.25 million without reform

• Independent reviewer Alan Milburn publishes his interim findings today, making the case for fundamental system change.
• Without urgent action, the number of young people affected could rise to 1.25 million within five years.
• Report details how the first rung of the career ladder has thinned and for too many young people it is now out of reach.
• Milburn will say the current broken system is failing a generation – 84% of NEET young people want a job or training.
  The report exposes a fundamental imbalance in how public money is spent. In 2024/25, for every £1 spent on employment support for young people, around £25 was spent on benefits.

Alan Milburn warns that Britain faces a “generational fault line” unless it confronts the whole-system failure that has seen nearly one million young people locked out of work, education and training.

The evidence points to something harder to stomach than any single failure. Our schools, our health system, our welfare state, our labour market, the institutions we built to carry young people from childhood into adult life, are no longer fit for purpose, and the country has known this for some time.

The report calls for a system reset from what Alan Milburn describes as a Welfare State that is “exacerbating inactivity” to a Working State that “builds capability”, arguing that new programmes layered on top of a broken system cannot work.

Speaking at the launch of his report, that without urgent action, the number of young people who are NEET – not in education, employment, or training – will rise from 1 in 8 to 1 in 6 young people within five years, representing 1.25 million young lives.

Across the country, parents and grandparents are gripped by a deep fear about what the future holds for today’s young people. For decades, Britain’s unwritten social contract has been that each generation would do better than the last. That promise is being broken.

Alan Milburn said:

“Six in ten have never had a job. Twenty years ago, that figure was closer to four in ten. Detachment is no longer temporary. For too many young people it is becoming permanent. We are at risk of a lost generation.”

Britain’s jobs boom of recent decades largely passing young people by

The Report points to Britain’s jobs boom of recent decades largely passing young people by. It says entry level jobs have long been in sharp decline with 1.6 million fewer low and medium skilled jobs in the economy. Vacancies in hospitality have halved in the last four years alone. Saturday jobs have long been in freefall. Apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen by 35% over the last decade. 

Alan Milburn said:

“The first rung of the career ladder has thinned. For too many young people it is now simply out of reach. That places them in a hopeless Catch-22 where employers ask for work experience but the opportunities for young people to gain it have narrowed or gone.”

Challenging the narrative that young people do not want to work, the review finds that 84% of NEET young people surveyed want a job or training – yet the system is failing to help them get one.

The report exposes a fundamental imbalance in how public money is spent. In 2024/25, for every £1 spent on employment support for young people, around £25 was spent on benefits.

Alan Milburn continues:

“This is not a failure of young people. It is a failure of a system stuck in the past. Whether it is education or health or welfare, that system fails to enable their participation in the labour market. Instead, all too often it ends up putting young people on a path to a life not in jobs but on benefits.This should be the priority for the Government. It should be the priority for all of us.”

The interim report sets out the diagnosis and identifies who these young people are, why the system is failing them and where the current trajectory leads if nothing changes.

Final recommendations for fundamental system reform will follow later this year.

Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, said:

“I commissioned this report because we cannot afford to lose a generation of young people, and I welcome Alan Milburn’s vital work which lays bare the scale of the challenge and the root causes of youth unemployment we now need to confront.

“We are already taking action by bringing forward the biggest youth employment reforms in a generation to create 500,000 opportunities for young people, including a Youth Jobs Grant for businesses starting next month, more apprenticeships, and subsidised employment to help young people get a foot on the ladder.

“Early intervention is also key, and that’s why we are supporting families with special educational needs, lifting over half a million children out of poverty, and improving vocational learning to give every young person the best start in life.

“But we know there is more to do. I will work across government and with employers, charities and young people to drive real change, so more young people are earning or learning, not left behind. I look forward to working with Alan as he brings forward his final recommendations later this year.”

Stuart Machin, Chief Executive at Marks & Spencer said:

“This report lays bare the joblessness crisis facing a generation of young people. The findings are shocking but not surprising – I hear them every day from our colleagues and customers, who are worried that opportunities and role models are disappearing. A Saturday job in retail changed my life, built my confidence and gave me the skills to build a fulfilling career. We have a chance to provide a similar path to every young person.”

Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive at Mencap said:

“The evidence presented to the Milburn Review is clear: young people, including young people with a learning disability, face too many barriers and too few opportunities. 

“We know that people with a learning disability want to work, develop their skills and contribute to their communities and workplaces. Yet for too long, the very systems intended to support them have instead created barriers. 

“We need change across the system: we have an education system that emphasises exam results over pathways into employment, a benefit system that can penalise people for moving closer to work, and too few opportunities for young people to gain work experience. 

“We hope the future recommendations of this review tackle the deep-rooted inequality that is stopping young people with a learning disability securing a job. When people with a learning disability are excluded from work, everyone loses out – young people, employers, communities, and the wider economy.”

Brian Dow, Chief Executive at Mental Health UK said:

“This is an unflinching and profound system-level diagnosis of a system wide failing. The report is uncompromising in calling out the lazy narratives often used to define an entire generation and instead deeply examines the real challenges young people face.

“In looking at how the combination of welfare, employment support, education, health and the jobs market itself function together it provides the deepest understanding we have seen of how young people are increasingly struggling to get the first foot on the career ladder.

“This should be a turning point, and we’re ready to work with government to be part of the solutions that will create meaningful change for young people, their families and society as a whole.”

David Hughes, Chief Executive at Association of Colleges said:

“I’m delighted that Alan Milburn has engaged a wide coalition of organisations as well as young people themselves to diagnose why our NEET problem is so persistent. We need stronger leadership nationally and locally to agree a coherent approach that ensures the system better meets the needs of every young person.

“Colleges need to be at the heart of the system and with the right investment can do so much more. In countries that have successfully reduced NEET numbers, young people are offered more time in college doing technical education and better access to supportive apprenticeships.”

Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Executive at Confederation of British Industry said:

“Young people should be looking to the future with confidence, but too many are being locked out of work. This report exposes a tragic waste of potential and sets out the key problems that must be fixed.

“Business has a central role in giving young people a better deal. Reducing the high cost of creating jobs in the UK would open up more opportunities, while growth would provide the resources needed to support those facing additional barriers to work, whether linked to skills, health or work-readiness.”

Sarah Yong, Deputy CEO at Youth Futures Foundation said:

“Youth Futures Foundation strongly welcomes the publication of the Young People and Work Interim Report as a significant moment in comprehensively highlighting the scale, complexity and urgency of the challenge faced by many young people locked out of learning or earning, particularly those most marginalised.

“The report rightly emphasises the need for a wide-ranging and systems-led approach to solutions, based on evidence of what works. We have been particularly pleased to convene the Youth Advisory Panel to help ensure the lived experience of young people is central to the interim report.”

Jess Clarkson, Managing Director of the Social Mobility Business Partnership (SMBP), a leading work experience charity, said:

“The Milburn Review is right to focus on employability and work readiness. But if universal work experience is going to become a reality, the missing piece is delivery infrastructure. The third sector can help bridge that gap – connecting schools, employers and young people in ways that make opportunities practical and scalable, particularly in disadvantaged areas.”

Susannah Hardyman MBE, CEO of Impetus, said: 

“The huge numbers of young people who are neither earning nor learning is a national tragedy, and one that was not inevitable. We agree that unless drastic action is taken, we are at risk of a whole generation being scarred by a lack of employment and education opportunities.  

For those young people who are furthest away from the world of work, and who are facing additional obstacles in the form of socioeconomic disadvantage, low qualifications and special educational needs, support needs to be offered at the earliest opportunity, starting in school. A multi-faceted approach would ensure education, employment and training options are in place, alongside support so every young person can succeed.”

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:

“The Milburn Review underlines the scale of the challenge we face, and the need to invest in the right systems, support, and opportunities for young people, with clearer pathways into the world of work and hope for the future. The alternative, as this report shows, is unthinkable.

“In its pilot year, the West of England’s Youth Guarantee Trailblazer has supported hundreds of young people who are out of work, education, and training. We have recently allocated millions of pounds more for the voluntary sector to help this government-backed scheme to reach more people.

“But we need to go much further. That’s why the West of England’s new Skills Strategy sets out an ambitious target for the fastest-growing regional economy to also become the country’s first NEET Zero region.”

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon said:

“Youth unemployment at this scale is a system problem which demands a system response from both government and business. At Amazon, we’ve seen that when you invest in young people — through apprenticeships, and through structured routes into work such as supported internships — they don’t just cope, they thrive. We’re committed to playing our part and working with others to ensure more young people get the opportunities they deserve.” 

Ruth Owen, CEO of disability charity Leonard Cheshire, said: 

“A generation of young people, especially disabled young people, is being shut out of opportunity, not by choice but by systems that don’t work for them. The Milburn Review should mark a turning point in delivering the support and opportunities they deserve.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“This report lays bare what too many young people feel in their bones – that the promise of a better future is out of reach due to a lack of fair opportunities. 

“We need a fundamental reset that empowers local leaders to work with employers and educators to guarantee every young person meaningful access to training and work.

“With national urgency and local action, we can prevent a lost generation and unleash the untapped potential of our young people, to drive growth and build a stronger, fairer Britain.”

Baroness Estelle Morris, former education secretary and co-chair of the independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes, said:

“The consequences of almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds being NEET is well understood by employees, politicians, parents, citizens and young people themselves. There have undoubtedly been serious attempts over the years to solve the problem, but what is clear from the interim report by the Milburn Review is that these efforts have made a difference only at the margins and have failed to stem the tide. 

“Through looking at the data and talking to those most involved, including young people themselves, the interim report, provides a deep and wide-ranging analysis of the factors that lead to so many young people finding themselves without training, education or employment. The report gives no place to hide and pulls no punches in making clear the scale of the problem at every level of society. Facing up to this evidence is an essential first step. If we don’t understand the nature of the problem, we stand little chance of finding the solution. 

“Later this summer the Independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes will publish its report. Our evidence supports much that is said in Alan Milburn’s analysis. We know that the education system has a key role to play in reducing the number of NEETS and we hope that our findings will make a valuable contribution to Alan’s second report which will outline recommendations.”

Gavin Kelly, CEO, Nuffield Foundation, said:

“The challenges facing this generation of young people as they move from education to work are starker and more complex than in the past. But they are also largely solvable. The Milburn report provides a penetrating analysis of the nature of the problem and points us towards a new settlement for how our country can support all young people to participate in learning or earning.”

Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind, said:  

“We’re encouraged by the interim report’s clear message that we should not be blaming young people for the immense challenges they face every day, when it is an overwhelming lack of opportunity and fractured support systems that are holding them back. Young people who are struggling with their mental health want to live well and, where possible, be in education, training or work, but right now too many are being let down by systems and services that should be helping.

“We know that a growing number of young people are experiencing mental health problems and, for too many, the support they need from the NHS and other services is simply not available quickly enough.

“We agree that the benefits system can feel like a barrier rather than something that helps young people to thrive. Too often it fails to build genuine trusting relationships or to give people the confidence to take steps towards work without worrying about losing financial support. Fixing that needs real, deep reform, not simply cutting benefits or adding tougher conditions.

“We stand ready to work together with the Review team to translate their comprehensive analysis into a plan of action to make sure that young people who are struggling with their mental health are given the respect, opportunities and support they deserve.”

Lukas Kaminskis, CEO of edtech platform Turing College, comments:

“The rise in young people falling out of work and education should be treated as a skills emergency, not simply a labour market issue. We’re seeing a growing disconnect between what traditional education pathways provide and what employers increasingly need – particularly in fast-growing, digital-first sectors where practical, job-ready skills matter as much as qualifications.

“At the same time, many young people are understandably disengaged from conventional routes that feel expensive, slow-moving or disconnected from real employment outcomes. What’s needed is a stronger focus on flexible, skills-based learning models that allow people to build relevant capabilities quickly, gain hands-on experience and see a clearer line between education and employment.

“The challenge for policymakers and employers is not just creating jobs, but rebuilding confidence that there are accessible pathways into meaningful careers. If we fail to close the gap between education and employability, we risk losing a generation of talent at exactly the moment the UK economy needs digital and analytical skills most.”

Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation said:

”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.

”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.

”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.”

Professor Neil Greenberg, President of the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM), said

“Milburn’s review is a vital wake-up call. Young people do not lack ambition; it’s the system failing them. Expecting managers to navigate complex mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions without specialist healthcare-focused advice is unrealistic. Occupational health professionals are the missing link.”

“When employers have access to work and health expertise, provided by occupational health professionals, they feel far more confident hiring and supporting young people with health conditions. Good work is beneficial for mental health, but we need the right support systems in place to help young people stay in work and thrive.”

Simon Ashworth, AELP Deputy CEO and Director of Policy:

“With more than one million young people now outside employment, education or training, the Milburn Review rightly highlights the growing barriers many face in accessing work and progression opportunities. This is a landmark report for a landmark moment.

“We now need a serious national conversation about how employers, providers and government create far more opportunities for young people and build stronger workforce pipelines for the future.

“Many young people are motivated and close to employment if the right opportunities exist. Apprenticeships must be part of the solution, alongside stronger employer engagement and more flexible pathways into work.

“Over the coming months, AELP will work with members, employers, charities and policymakers through an Autumn Summit and forthcoming Mini Commission aimed at developing practical solutions for increasing opportunities for young people.”

Sarah Yong, Deputy CEO at Youth Futures Foundation, said:

“Today’s ONS figures reveal that around 1,012,000 young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Taken alongside the findings in Alan Milburn’s diagnostic report, the message is clear; we must act decisively and at pace for young people.

“Growing government focus through the expanded Youth Guarantee and recent apprenticeship reforms have marked a welcome and positive start, but the scale and complexity of the challenge means we need to raise ambition further. Ambitious system reform needs to include acting early in education, working with employers to create more apprenticeship opportunities which we know have high evidence of impact, combined with tailored employment support for young people facing more barriers, like those with SEND or care experience.

“With mental ill health a significant driver of rising inactivity, reforms must also integrate employment and health support in ways that reflect the evidence. We also need to do more to reach ‘hidden’ NEET young people. Approaches that integrate relational support through trusted adults have the potential to provide the connective tissue needed in the system.

“Alongside the evidence, the lived experience of young people is essential to shaping solutions that work. Behind the statistics are real young people facing real and often multiple barriers. We have been pleased to convene the Youth Advisory Panel to help ensure their voices inform the interim report.

“The opportunity is here to drive meaningful change. We have a moral obligation to improve outcomes for young people and additionally there is a huge societal and economic prize if we get this right. Analysis suggests that matching youth participation rates in the Netherlands would mean 567,000 more young people earning or learning, delivering an £86 billion boost to the UK economy.

“As the What Works Centre for Youth Employment, we look forward to supporting the next phase of the review to develop recommendations grounded in what works.”

Sarah Beale, AAT CEO said:

“AAT’s research has shown that 68% of employers believe younger generations currently lack work readiness.  So, I am glad to see that today’s interim report from Alan Milburn will recognise the need for a coordinated effort to tackle the problems of youth unemployment in the UK.

“This focus underlines what AAT have been championing for years and see every day – that vocational pathways provide routes into jobs and careers for a larger and more diversified pool of talent, that the provision of work experience is essential, and that the UK’s education system needs to equip young people with the real-world skills employers require.

“AAT welcomes the call for urgent action from Milburn and stands ready to support on this critical issue.”

Jamie Cater, Senior Policy Manager – Employment and Skills, Make UK said:

“Make UK welcomes the publication of Alan Milburn’s interim report on young people and work, as the number of NEETs surpasses one million. It highlights many of the challenges manufacturers have raised, showing that education, health programmes and the labour market need to work better for young people.

“The report rightly notes that many structural barriers to young people entering the labour market are longstanding. However, the Government must recognise that recent policy decisions risk reinforcing, rather than reversing, current trends. Investment in full level 2 and 3 apprenticeships should be the top priority and must not come at the expense of management training that helps young people succeed in the workplace. Decisions on the National Living Wage and the Employment Rights Act must preserve sustainable employment opportunities for young people, rather than contribute to the increasingly risk-averse hiring approach already emerging. Piling further employment costs onto businesses, while other costs continue to rise, is not the solution.

“The Government has made a positive start with its Youth Guarantee, but it must go further. Our response to the report’s call for evidence highlighted the need for sustainable apprenticeship funding, proportionate increases in the NLW to maintain pay differentials based on role and experience, and an approach to ERA measures, such as the right to guaranteed hours, that does not restrict entry-level opportunities. The final report, and the Government’s response, should reflect these priorities.”

​​​​Dr Vikki Smith, Chief Professionalism Officer, at the Education Training Foundation, said:

“The Milburn interim report is an important and timely recognition that rising numbers of young people disengaging from education, employment and training represent a systemic national challenge with significant social and economic consequences. Its emphasis on place-based coordination, trusted support and meaningful pathways into work reflects the vital role the further education (FE) and skills sector already plays in communities across the country.

“Many of the solutions the report identifies are already embedded within the FE and skills sector’s practice. Colleges, independent training providers and workforce development organisations support young people every day through flexible pathways, technical and vocational education, careers support, employer engagement and second-chance opportunities that reconnect learners with confidence, progression and work.

“The report also underlines the importance of investing in the FE and skills workforce itself. Meeting the needs of young people with increasingly complex barriers to participation requires a highly skilled, professionally supported workforce with the capacity, expertise and partnerships to deliver joined-up support locally. This is particularly important for young people navigating SEND, mental health and other intersecting challenges during transition into adulthood and employment.

“As the review progresses, there is an opportunity to recognise FE and skills not simply as a delivery mechanism within the system, but as a strategic partner in shaping inclusive local economies, strengthening transitions and improving life chances for young people. These themes are explored further in the forthcoming ETF Beyond the label: workforce, transition and the future of SEND reform report, which considers how systems can better support young people through more connected, relational and inclusive approaches to transition.”

Andy Clarke, Partnerships Director at Ahead Partnership, said:

“The Milburn Review exposes a hard truth: we’re not facing a crisis of ambition among young people, but a failure of the system meant to back them.”

“At the start of our NEET prevention programme, 55% of students identified in Year 8 as at risk of becoming NEET report feeling positive and confident about their future. However, too often that confidence isn’t sustained, and is held back by patchy careers support, mental health pressures and a lack of meaningful exposure to the world of work.

“Our experience shows that targeted intervention, particularly when employers are directly involved, can re-engage young people and significantly improve both motivation and outcomes.

“If we’re serious about avoiding a lost generation, this is the moment to scale what we know works. We need to bring education, employers and government together to create a clear, consistent pathway from school into work.”

Dr Sam Parrett CBE DL, Group Principal and CEO of Elevare Civic Education Group, said:

“Further education colleges are too often blamed for failures that originate far beyond their gates. Callaghan’s Ruskin warning in 1976 was about the failure to connect employers, the economy and education coherently.

“The Milburn review shows that fifty years later the real problem is not that colleges do too little but that, over many years, we have had a fragmented skills system, insecure local labour markets and inconsistent employer support and investment.

“All of which has had a devastating impact on our young people. FE colleges cannot compensate alone for stagnant wages, disappearing entry-level jobs, poor careers guidance, unstable funding, or employers unwilling to train or employ young people.

“Colleges work with the labour market they inherit – the enduring policy mistake has been to treat FE as the cause of labour-market failure rather than the institution left to manage its consequences.

“It is good to see Milburn acknowledges and supports the importance of collective accountability, recognising that shared responsibility fosters trust, enhances transparency, and promotes meaningful progress.

“The system does not need tinkering with, we need a wholesale collective honest conversation about how to fix this problem once and for all and the blaming and shaming needs to stop.”

Prof. Amanda Kirby, Founder of Do-IT Solutions said:

“Not so NEAT …we need to take a universal design approach and work across systems starting much earlier

“Alan Milburn’s interim report today on young people and work should make us pause.
Nearly one million young people aged 16–24 are not in education, employment or training.
But this is not simply a ‘worklessness’ issue!

“For many young people, the pathway to NEET status starts much earlier: unmet neurodevelopmental needs, poverty, trauma, care experience, school exclusion, poor mental health, low confidence and systems that act too late.

“For young people who are neurodivergent and have also experienced adversity, risk is not just added — it can compound.

“A young person may be labelled as difficult, disengaged or not work-ready, when the real story is missed ADHD, autism, DLD, DCD, dyslexia, trauma, anxiety, poor sleep, sensory overload or communication needs or a combination of all of the above (+ Care experience/homelessness)

“The report rightly challenges a system that asks too often, ‘What can’t you do?’ rather than, ‘What would help you take the next step?’

“We need earlier identification, practical support, inclusive employers, accessible training routes and joined-up education, health, welfare and employment systems.

“Most young people want and deserve a future. The question is whether our systems are designed to help them reach it.”

Maggie Jones, CIM’s Director of Qualifications and Partnerships said:

“This is a critical moment for tackling youth employment and skills. The data shows clearly that access to real-world experience is one of the biggest barriers facing young people today – not a lack of talent.

“Marketing is a sector where analytical and creative skills can be developed quickly through hands-on experience, and where employers are actively seeking digital-first talent. At the Chartered Institute of Marketing, we’re focused on widening access through apprenticeships, accessible training, and initiatives like our Pitch competition and Marketing Club, which give young people direct exposure to real business challenges, strengthen their analytical thinking, and help build the next generation of business leaders.

“Expanding work placements is a positive step, but it must be matched with strong industry partnerships and structured skills development to ensure young people don’t just enter work – but go on to build sustainable, long-term careers and become tomorrow’s business leaders.”

Jonathan Townsend, UK Chief Executive of The King’s Trust says:

“The report today from Alan Milburn and the alarming news that the number of NEET young people in this country has surpassed 1 million should be a wake-up call to us all.

“When young people are out of work or education, it doesn’t just hold them back — it has consequences for all of society. It means lost talent for employers, greater pressure on public services, and weaker communities and local economies.

“When young people are given the right support to build confidence, gain skills and access work, the benefits are felt across society — businesses gain motivated employees, communities grow stronger, and young people can contribute, earn and thrive.

“But this needs coordinated, urgent action. Employers, government and charities must work together to create clearer routes into work and make sure support reaches young people at the right time.

 “At the King’s Trust, our ambition is to end youth unemployment. Investing in young people is not just the right thing to do — it is essential to building a stronger, more resilient economy and a fairer society.”

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive at Learning and Work Institute (L&W), said:

“More than one million young people are now estimated to be not in education, employment or training, up by one third since the pandemic. At 13.5% this is the highest rate since 2013. This rise should ring alarm bells given the risk of long-damage to young people’s career prospects. Our research shows only one in four NEETs is getting help to find work, meaning we risk writing off the potential of huge numbers of young people. We need to offer help into education and work to the one in four NEETs on health-related benefits, and proactively find and support the one in two who are off the grid altogether. The Milburn Review rightly shows the twin challenges of underfunded and disjointed employment and skills and a jobs market becoming tougher. The Government has made positive changes, including a Jobs Guarantee, Youth Jobs Grant and Youth Guarantee trailblazers. But we must act urgently with greater scale and pace. It’s time to move from analysis to action.”

Gavin Donoghue, CEO of Colleges Scotland said:

“Colleges are Scotland’s skills engines and act as strong community anchors, lifting people out of poverty and providing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of learners each year.

“With sustainable investment, colleges could build on the already high levels of success that learners achieve in technical and vocational education, and work even closer with employers so young people have the skills and training they need to get good jobs and have rewarding careers.

“The opportunity for young people to attend college is an opportunity that works. Colleges should be at the centre of our collective ambitions to drive up economic growth and productivity, and to drive down worklessness and poverty.”

Tom Arey, director of PfP Thrive at Places for People, said:

“This is a deeply concerning report and a stark warning about the future facing young people in the UK. To hear the system described as ‘stuck in the past’ will resonate with many people trying to build a stable and prosperous future for themselves.

“At PFP Thrive, we work across public and private sector partnerships to create pathways into education, skills and employment. That is why the prospect of 1.25 million young people being out of work or training within five years feels like such a striking contradiction – particularly when employers across multiple sectors are simultaneously facing critical skills shortages.

“The challenge is not a lack of potential among young people; it is a lack of joined-up collaboration between education, employers, government and support services. We need to stop viewing this generation as a problem to manage and instead recognise them as talent to invest in.“Collaboration is the only way forward if we are serious about preventing a lost generation and building a workforce fit for the future.”

Jude Hillary, Co-Head of UK Policy and Practice at NFER, said:  

“We welcome that the report highlights the need for more joined-up support to help young people successfully transition into education and employment.

“NFER’s Skills Imperative research has consistently shown that too many young people face barriers accessing the skills, guidance and opportunities needed to thrive in the labour market. This research highlighted that most of the new jobs created in the future labour market will be in high-skilled occupations whilst jobs in most low- and mid-skilled occupations are set to decline. It is therefore essential that young people leave education with a strong base of the essential employment skills, such as communication and problem-solving, which are needed to enter these higher-skilled jobs.

“If apprenticeships and technical pathways are to play a stronger role in tackling youth inactivity, policymakers must focus not only on participation, but also on ensuring young people, particularly those facing disadvantage, are supported to complete programmes and progress into work.”

Nick Connor, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry, said:

“The IMI submitted its insight to the Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry – Preventing Youth Unemployment: Supporting Young People to Stay Engaged. We are, therefore, very interested to understand the findings from the interim report from the independent Milburn Review on young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

“The transition from education into the workplace is fragmented and poorly supported. Young people are being left to navigate a complex and disconnected jobs and training landscape largely on their own. And those who face additional barriers, whether that’s disability, mental health challenges or care experience, are the ones most likely to fall through the gaps. We cannot keep treating this as a failure of individual ambition when the evidence points so clearly to structural failure.

“Automotive has, historically, been one of the strongest sectors for providing that vital transition from education into the workplace with an above average representation of apprenticeships. However, whilst it remains a high-volume apprenticeship sector, ranking 11th out of 38 subject areas, our latest data shows that automotive apprenticeship starts are 20-25% below pre-pandemic levels for the new academic year.

“That is not because demand for skilled technicians has dried up – quite the opposite. It is because the system makes it too hard, too costly and too complex for smaller employers to take on young people.

“SMEs make up over 95% of our sector. And they are the businesses most willing to offer young people a first step into skilled work. But these organisations have been given too many hurdles to overcome. In the first quarter of the 2025/26 academic year, only 45% of automotive apprenticeship starts were levy funded. This was 7% lower than in both 2024/25 and 2023/24, and 18% below the all-sector average of 63%.

“The IMI is calling for front-loaded financial support for SMEs, a simplified apprenticeship system, better and earlier careers guidance, and joined-up transitions from education into work. We don’t believe they are radical requests – it is simply a question of making it easier for employers to appeal to and engage with young people as they leave education.

“We know that when the conditions are right, things do change. We’ve seen it with HGV apprenticeships, where targeted support, clear career pathways and genuine employer engagement have made a real difference.

“We hope that the interim report from the Milburn Review will provide some clear indication that change will be made to achieve the difference that is needed at scale.”

Laura-Jane Rawlings MBE, Chief Executive of Youth Employment UK said:

“The Milburn Review reflects what young people have been telling us for years through the Youth Voice Census: this is not a crisis of aspiration, it is a crisis of access, opportunity and joined-up support. Most young people want to work, train and contribute, but too many are navigating fragmented systems and a labour market where the first rung of the ladder has become harder to reach.

The real test now is whether we move beyond diagnosis into long-term reform, connecting education, employment, health, employers and local delivery around a genuine youth guarantee. The economic and social cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of investing early in young people.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“This report is right in its emphasis on the importance of the early years, tackling disadvantage and the need to better calibrate the current curriculum and assessment system in order to help young people flourish at school and beyond.

“We have welcomed the government’s moves to prioritise the early years through initiatives including free breakfast clubs and family hubs, but there remains a need for more investment in services like children’s social care and CAMHS.

“These can play a vital role in helping families with challenges in their lives which can impact children’s ability to attend school and focus on learning once there.

“Education, and the qualifications on offer, should prepare young people for life after school, harnessing the skills and attitudes they will need to succeed in modern society.

“But for too long these aims have been distorted and restricted by a wide range of pressures including an over-emphasis on statutory testing, unhelpful accountability measures, and an outdated national curriculum.

“We were pleased that the government’s assessment review recognised that the curriculum is overloaded, and that content needs to be reduced – including to make space for positive additions including financial, digital and media literacy, climate change and sustainability, and speaking skills.

“It did not go far enough though in recognising that current assessment system, which favours high-stakes tests and exams throughout all key stages, is a barrier to demonstrating attainment and progress for some students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have additional needs. In doing so it can harm young people’s life chances.”

Emma Hughes, Partner and Head of HR Services at Browne Jacobson, said:

“The Milburn report shines a light on something many HR professionals will recognise but few have been willing to confront. The finding that the most consistent complaint from young applicants is not rejection but silence is a damning indictment of how some employers are managing that experience.

“It would be wrong to lay all of this at the door of employers, however. Employer behaviour does not develop in isolation from government policy. As employment protections expand and greater scrutiny is placed on casual working arrangements, employers inevitably become more risk-conscious — and employers are being asked to take chances on candidates with little or no work history at precisely the moment the legal, financial and operational risks of getting recruitment wrong feel higher than ever.

“But there is a danger that the system has overcorrected. Too often, the young people who succeed are those whose families can open doors for them. That raises important questions not only about youth employment, but about social mobility and fairness more broadly.

“There is an uncomfortable contradiction at the heart of this. Employers frequently talk about skills shortages and difficulties attracting talent, yet many recruitment processes are designed in ways that exclude candidates with potential simply because they lack prior experience. The employers that build relationships with young people before they are job-ready will be better placed in a labour market that is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate — for young people and businesses alike.

“Ahead of the recommendations in the autumn, we’d also like to see greater recognition that major societal and economic challenges like youth employment and social mobility are becoming deeply interconnected. The more difficult it becomes to access that first opportunity, the more important personal networks and family circumstances have become. 

“It’s therefore crucial the Milburn review, and the government’s response, seeks to weave policies that enhance social mobility throughout its approach to getting young people into work.”

Shazia Ejaz, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Director of Campaigns, said:

“The report makes for stark reading, but we must lead with practicality and pace rather than pessimism. Youth worklessness is not new and the UK has overcome it before, even if the challenge remains complex and sprinkled with the yet unknown extent of AI related impact. The good news is that work does not have a PR problem because young people and businesses still need each other, as they always have.

“This is a reminder that we need business, government and education providers to go harder at the problem and work more closely together. There are quick wins that the government could facilitate. Reversing the lowering of the threshold on employer National Insurance contributions and taking Guaranteed Hours proposals off the table, would both help employers accelerate hiring young people. Milburn addresses the need for incentivising business to take the risk on hiring.

“Recruiters and employers could think together about how to solve the challenge of expanding the work experience offer which has declined in recent years. Programmes such as Restart show that targeted programmes help but employers and recruiters should be involved in the design of these interventions, so they are efficient and lead to long term outcomes. The REC’s work to connect job seekers with recruiters via Restart has got almost 4,000 people into work. Surely there is more the government could do to bring recruiters into the fold on solving the NEET issue.

“In large part business needs to be left to create jobs and growth for any long-term sustainable solution to this crisis. Now is the time for government to reflect more on how it makes hiring easier and more cost effective. The quid pro quo is for employers to work harder on engaging with young people not in work. A good start would be breaking the silence of not responding to candidates when they apply for roles. Engaging with young work seekers is a strategic imperative that employers need to prioritise. Effective hiring is business critical for future growth and recruiters are best placed to factor this into workforce plans for clients that will provide the future talent our economy and businesses we need.”

Emma Leary, Responsible Officer at City & Guilds, said: 

“The Milburn review is a stark warning that the UK is on course for a deepening NEET crisis, but it is also a reminder that this is a system failure, not a talent failure. Young people are not lacking potential; they are lacking opportunity, support and clear, credible routes into work.  This is ultimately about social mobility, skills and employability are the key ingredients in giving people a fair chance, and must sit at the heart of long‑term reform.”  

“We urgently need to rebuild the first rung of the ladder. That means high‑quality technical education, employer‑led training, improved transitions from college through to employment and a skills system that develops the durable skills people need to thrive, from communication and problem‑solving to adaptability in an AI‑driven economy. Once young people enter the workplace, we must ensure they are supported to remain in work and progress, which means investing in the capability of managers to coach, mentor and develop early-career staff.” 

“We stand ready to work with government, employers and the wider skills system to ensure every young person, and every adult needing to retrain, has a fair chance to build a future.” 

Rebecca Garrod-Waters, CEO, of Ufi VocTech Trust said:

“The Milburn interim review is right to focus on the reality that the whole system – from education through to employment and beyond – is not doing enough to support young people. Addressing this challenge will require coordinated action across that system, with everyone who has a role to play contributing to improving participation in learning and work.

“Much of the current conversation about technology is understandably focused on risks for young people and the challenge facing those entering the workforce. But there is also a significant opportunity for positive change when technologies are well designed, inclusive, and embedded within the wider system.

“At Ufi VocTech Trust, we are seeing the growing potential of human-centred vocational technologies to support young people, particularly when they are adopted not in isolation, but as part of a more connected employability, skills and work system. The opportunity lies in how these technologies work together to remove barriers, open pathways, and better align what young people can do with the opportunities available to them.

“Digital badges, for example, can support recognition of what young people can do – including through voluntary work and wider activity – helping to build confidence and provide credible evidence of capability. Modular, bite sized training, increasingly enhanced by generative AI, is enabling more personalised coaching and skills development, with the potential to scale and reach young people where they are. Platforms that simplify and connect provision can make the system more navigable; helping young people to find relevant training and work, while supporting employers to open the door more widely to emerging talent. This is not about any single intervention, but about how different approaches combine to strengthen the system as a whole.

“Through our grant-making, venture investments and partnership work we see technology delivering real, practical opportunities for young people. Concerted engagement from policymakers, practitioners, training providers of different types, and employers could accelerate this impact and make a meaningful difference to the futures of young people across the UK. We look forward to contributing to the next phase of the discussion alongside many others who can collectively work together to see greater participation become a reality.”

Sarah Farquhar, CEO (Interim), Education Development Trust (edt)

“The Milburn Review is right to identify this as a systems failure, not a failure of young people. In our work across careers, skills and employability, we see young people with ambition and potential, but too often they are left to navigate fragmented services, practical barriers and unclear pathways alone. With the final report due in September, Government must have a robust plan with clear accountability, longer-term funding, national consistency and young people’s voices at its heart.”