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Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 824: 21st November 2025. NEETs Drop By 2,000, House of Lords Backs FE For Social Mobility: Will The Chancellor Also Back FE And Skills In The Budget?
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
I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week! Another busy week. I loved the AoC and CDI conferences this week (I got my steps in juggling between the two).
So we are on the Budget Countdown!
946,000 NEETs... but this is a drop in number
So... interesting... There has been a drop in the number of NEETs!... I would have thought it would have gone up! But... there is a drop of 2000 in the number of NEETs according to the latest ONS figures. As the last figures were 948,000.
This 2000 number is interesting... as last week on the latest ONS Labour Market data. .. we had 37 consecutive quarters where the number of vacancies were reducing... and last week they had gone up by just 2000... so just before the budget, the Government can say 'hand on heart' that the NEET figures and number of vacancies have increased this quarter! ... both by 2000!
Handy!
Is it a coincidence that both the NEET figures... and the reversal of the vacancy numbers from last week's ONS Labour market data... both improved by exactly 2,000 just before the Budget? Coincidence, or careful timing of good news? Either way, the Chancellor has some positive talking points as a result... and hopefully, both the number of NEETs will reduce every month and the opportunities will arise for everyone to reverse the massive welfare bill due to economic inactivity that must be a massive driver for the black hole that the Chancellor is trying to fill. But to fill this 'black hole'... there needs to be support, investment and services to address the complex needs of NEETs, economic inactivity due to ill health etc. A sticky plaster, a one-week short course, or a red or blue pill will not fix this; it needs ongoing support and care!
I still think the Mayfield, Milburn and Timms reviews will be massively important for the Budget on Wednesday! They sound similar.. so the Mayfield review (economic inactivity due to ill health), Milburn Review (NEETs) and Timms (PIP and benefits). Seeing as £212 Billion a year is the amount we have to spend on economic inactivity due to ill health (and the budget is about bridging or finding an extra £20 Billion)!
Despite this.. the 18-24 age group is at 15.1% NEET... that is 880,000 young adults not in education, employment and training! Previous NEET stats from August 2025 showed an increase in female NEETs... now the Male unemployment rate is rising, up 14,000 on the quarter to 238,000.
House of Lords- FE and Skills Sector Is Key to Removing Barriers to Social Mobility
Now, when a chunk of people were at the AoC or CDI ... the social mobility select committee released their report... and we had this epic exclusive from Baroness Manningham-Buller, Chair of the Select Committee on Social Mobility Policy, recognising the importance of FE and Skills on Social Mobility.. BOOM!
Their report ‘Social mobility: Local roots, lasting change.’.. is massively important... and again... NEETs, Economic inactivity and more all feed into this.
I'd highly recommend checking it out and showcasing this. This is massive for the sector! Take the win, celebrate the win... FE and Skills are central to removing barriers to Social mobility.. I know it, you know it... let's share this far and wide and make sure the World knows it (especially just before the budget)!!
Skills England Local Skills Road Map
Interestingly, the Social Mobility Select Committee called for more on local skills.. and boom.. Skills England dropped their local skills road map. Chuck that in your sat nav, local mayoral authorities.
Jacqui Smith shot from the AoC stage to launch this (interestingly in the PWC offices in Birmingham.. so around the corner from the ICC / AoC stage... and launched the Skills England local skills road map at a LSIP meeting... which is interesting!
All Eyes To The Budget
I am really hopeful about the FE, Skills and Employability side of the budget. I still expect employability initiatives in Wednesday's Budget... the £212 Billion annual welfare bill demands it... and surely this needs investment to reduce it.. not cuts... I am hopeful of a budget that will hopefully lean on FE and Skills for support (and provide the tools for us as a sector to step up and deliver), so it could be great for the sector (should be.. as the answer lies in FE, Skills and Employability). A bit like the House of Lords' Social Mobility Committee... hopefully the bean counters in Treasury have worked it out as well!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week... I will try and keep you updated on my Qatar and WISE 12 trip of a lifetime.. and obviously the delights of FAB in Milton Keynes! If you see me around, say hi... and come Friday afternoon.. I will be a bit tired... two weeks will have blurred into one, as I am travelling on Saturday and will be straight at it when I land in Doha!
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Firstly, Further Education Sector Key to Removing Barriers to Social Mobility By Baroness Manningham-Buller, Chair of the Select Committee on Social Mobility Policy
Secondly, Skills Post 16 White Paper? Back to the Future Part II By Gill Scott, Director and Senior Consultant at Gill Scott Consultancy Ltd
Finally, Why Post-16 Reform Must Prepare Young People for Real Work By Sarah Beale, CEO at the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Keeping Britain Teaching: Why Every College Needs a Menopause Strategy By Vicky Mose, Founder, Imagine How Ltd
Financial Education in the Curriculum: We Must not Leave Post-16 Behind By Sarah Porretta, CEO of Young Enterprise
What’s New in the World of FE?
Green Mindset Interviews
Trust the Professionals: Olly Newton on Why FE Needs Autonomy to Develop Green Skills
Start With Questions: Jodie Bailey-Ho on Making Sustainability a Core Competency
Announcements
November 2025 ONS: NEETs Drop to 946k as Gender Dynamics Reverse By the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Skills England Unveils ‘Roadmap’ for Local Skills to Drive Growth By Skills England
Significant Challenges Continue to Face HE Finances, with nearly half facing deficits in 2025-26. By the Office for Students (OfS)
EPI Chief Executive to step down in 2026 By Education Policy Institute (EPI)
Reports
Empower Local Partnerships to Remove Barriers to Social Mobility says Lords Committee By the House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee
New framework helps college leaders embed responsible AI into culture By Jisc
Working Adults are Unconcerned About AI Risk to Jobs, New Data Finds By the Association of Colleges (AoC)
New WISE Report: Navigating Skills Adaptation: Integrating AI in Higher Education By the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)
GCSE attainment entrenches pay gap for disadvantaged pupils by age 25, new EPI analysis finds By Education Policy Institute (EPI)
Voices
Why the Water Skills Strategic Group is needed to deliver 40k jobs and a £104bn investment By Paul Cox, Group Chief Executive at the Energy & Utility Skills
Why FE Needs a Smarter Approach to Employer Engagement By Adam Herbert, CEO and Co-Founder of Go Live Data
In The Know
Join us on Feb 12th in London for our SEND collective intelligence event. Where you'll co-create strategies and policy recommendations alongside sector leaders. This isn't lectures, it's rolling up sleeves and making real change. This isn't just SEND, this is Neuro-inclusion and breaking down the silos to help every learner, not just 16-18, but all life long. This is a massively important Collective, so help shape the report!
We hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week. Stay curious, keep innovating, and let's shake up the world of FE together, and catch you next week!
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and | 