New DWP Research shows a Third of Adults Blame Young People’s Motivation for NEET rise

New DWP polling finds 35% of UK adults blame a lack of motivation for the rise in young people not in education, employment or training, a similar proportion to those pointing at limited access to apprenticeships and entry level jobs. Young people asked the same question do not answer that way.

The Department for Work and Pensions has published interim findings from polling carried out by Ipsos on public attitudes to the recent rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

The survey covered 2,180 UK adults aged 16 to 75 and ran between 31 July and 5 August 2026. It was commissioned to inform the Milburn Young People and Work final report, with a full version of the polling due in September 2026.

Half of respondents said young people today have fewer opportunities than previous generations. That view is strongest among young people themselves, at 56% of 16 to 24 year olds against 47% of those aged 55 to 75. Parents of teenagers were also more likely to hold it than parents of primary aged children, at 53% against 45%.

Asked what has driven the rise in young people who are NEET, 36% pointed to limited access to apprenticeships and entry level jobs. Almost the same proportion, 35%, said young people lack the motivation or desire to work. A further 32% identified the loss of part time and early work experience of the kind Saturday jobs used to provide.

That near tie is the most striking finding in the report. The public is split down the middle between a structural explanation and a behavioural one, which makes the politics of any intervention harder than the headline support for young people would suggest.

Young people do not split that way. Among 16 to 24 year olds the leading explanation was fewer early work opportunities at 48%, followed by limited access to apprenticeships and entry level jobs at 39% and broader economic conditions such as the cost of living and the state of the job market at 38%. Motivation did not feature near the top.

On where money should go, the sector will find the answer familiar. Half of all respondents said the government should prioritise more apprenticeship opportunities, ahead of skills training and education courses at 45%, more work experience opportunities at 42% and help finding suitable jobs at 35%. Support for apprenticeships rises to 62% among 55 to 75 year olds, the same group least likely to say opportunities have narrowed.

On social mobility more broadly, 27% said success depends mainly on hard work and 22% said it depends on who you know or your family background. Only 5% each said luck or talent, while 36% said it comes down to a roughly equal mixture.

The final report is expected in September 2026.