NEET Numbers Are Falling… But Are We Fixing The Right Things With Employers To Reduce It Further? FE Soundbite 862
Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 862: 29th August 2026. NEET Numbers Are Falling… But Are We Fixing the Right Things with Employers To Reduce It Further?
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here’s a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
This week ONS released the latest data on NEETs… which have now dipped below 1 Million, there are now 981,000 NEETs. The 30,000 quarterly fall is almost entirely a fall in economic inactivity. Inactive NEETs, those not looking for work, dropped 28,000 on the quarter to 588,000. Unemployed NEETs, those actively seeking work, were essentially unchanged, down 2,000 to 393,000. So this is really interesting and definitely a move in the right direction, particularly on the data on the reduction of economic inactivity in young people!
Same day as the ONS data was released… DWP released five reports that will feed into the Milburn Review findings (the final Milburn Review is due in September, and the data and research flowed thick and fast this week)! So it could be soon?
Only 17% of Employers Say a Wage Subsidy Would Get Them Hiring Young People
I was really surprised by the findings from the reports and research. 72% of employers who used a government incentive said it did not increase the number of young people they hired!
47% of employers said a wage subsidy would make no difference to their hiring
47% of employers said a wage subsidy would make no difference to their hiring, and 17% said it would lead them to take on more… However (and not surprising), financial support and subsidies were still the most requested form of help from employers, chosen by 72%! … but if 72% (same number as those requesting support and subsidies) said it made zero difference to the number of young people they hired… that is surprising…
It highlights… Are the current employer subsidies enough?
To me… this highlights… as we all know. That the current financial support and subsidies are not enough for employers.
36% of Employers have never been approached by a College or Training Provider!
Employers also revealed that Colleges are the education provider that employers most commonly engage with (38%), but 36% said no provider had ever approached them!
Again… not surprising, as 99% of the FE and Skills sector targeted large levy-paying employers with approaches.. eg can we help you spend you Levy funds… this was also geared I think by the ‘use it, or lose it’ levy model for Apprenticeships… but it shows that Employer engagement definitely has room for improvement! Particularly when last week, ONS highlighted that there are just 707,000 vacancies… 2.5 Unemployed people for each vacancy… those vacancies are precious, becoming rare… the sector needs to reach out more… particularly with work experience and placements being more integral to mainstream education!
Reality is… we can have the most cracking education and skills system in the world… but if we don’t have the vacancies to fill with talent for employers… there is a big problem. This is compounded if employers are not regularly approached by colleges and training providers… as reality is, the FE and Skills system is difficult to navigate for employers, it is confusing!.. We all know this!… so why isn’t there more engagement with employers, especially as the Government is switching to more and more local and devolution thinking. Surely employer engagement has to be stepped up by the sector! .. and done well, not badly!
Debunking Myths on Supporting and Sustaining Young People into Work
Now the other day… ONS released some really interesting data on talking therapies to support people on benefits into work… and those into work… which actually resulted in people in work who had talking therapy ended up on benefits… which is really counterintuitive to most people’s thinking on this as a support mechanism for supporting mental health and the economically inactive due to ill health into work and remain in work. Check it out at the link above. It really surprised me.
Will this also feed into Milburn… or Mayfield’s review on Keep Britain Working on Economic Inactivity strategies? Total fair play to the Milburn review for looking at NEETs holistically, and in a 3D way… hopefully they can come up with some cracking solutions. I am actually really hopeful they will, as they have put in a proper mountainous effort to make sure resources and effort go in the right direction!
So this is really interesting… I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week.
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Firstly, The Real Learnings from Results Day By Dr Kevin Latham, Research and Policy Manager at the Sutton Trust
Secondly, Looking Outward: What England Can Learn from Global Careers and Skills Systems By Ladi Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Global Educational Travel and Tours (GETT) and Shani Wijemuni, Policy Officer at Global Educational Travel & Tours (GETT)
Finally, Skills are the new Currency, what this Summer’s Reforms ask of the FE Sector By Vanessa Aradia, Head of Learning & Development at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Extreme Weather Is Now Part of FE’s Operating Environment. Are We Ready? By Charlotte Bonner, Chief Exeutive of The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)
Statistics show FE staff care deeply, but don’t believe their voice counts By Jane Tidswell, Head of HE and FE at People Insight
The Staffroom Tension No One’s Naming This September By Nathan Whitbread, the Neurodivergent Coach
What’s New in the World of FE?
August 2026 ONS: NEETs Fall Back Below One Million, but the Year on Year Trend Still Points Up
Announcements
Sir David Bell stands down as Vice Chair of Skills England By Skills England
First Jobs Guarantee cohort starts work at Boots, with 90,000 fully funded jobs promised by 2029 By the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
£25m Boost to Tackle Isolation Among Young People Leaving Care By the Department for Education (DfE)
Treasury Accounting Rules Cost Scotland £5.7Bn in HE Spending, new Analysis Finds By the National Union of Students (NUS)
Reports
DWP Research: Only 17% of Employers Say a Wage Subsidy Would Get Them Hiring Young People
How can Colleges help Young People Become more Independent Learners? By EEF
Study reveals the UK’s most popular jobs in 2026 By Ciphr
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and