techUK's evidence shapes the Milburn Review's interim report – and what comes next
Following publication of the interim report of the Milburn Review, we explore the findings and discuss the role of technology in tackling the NEET challenge.
On 28 May, the interim report on Young People and Work was published. Led by Alan Milburn, the Review examines the growing number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
A decade ago, the UK's youth NEET rate was close to the EU average. Today it is among the worst in Europe – by 2025, only Romania recorded a higher rate among EU countries. Without urgent action, the number of young people affected could rise to 1.25 million within five years. Tackling the NEET issue is not just an ethical imperative, it is also critical to the UK's long-term economic competitiveness and its ability to build the strong talent pipeline that a modern tech-driven economy demands.
techUK responded to the call for evidence for this Review, setting out the need to better equip young people for work, address the distinct barriers facing different groups, and take action to ensure sufficient access to opportunities. We are pleased to see that many of our points are reflected in the interim report’s findings.
The interim report is diagnostic in nature and paints a sobering picture; outlining the extent of the problem, expressing challenges in young people’s own words, assessing the state of the youth economy, underscoring health as a principal barrier for NEETs, and interrogating the welfare state’s ability to support young people to participate.
As part of the Review, a second report is due in the Autumn and will make recommendations to government to tackle the identified challenges, focusing on building a system that boosts young people’s participation supported by clear delineation of responsibilities and funding.
techUK’s view
The Review’s findings draw together substantial amounts of evidence to create a clear picture of the myriad factors driving the growing number of NEET young people. techUK, through its engagement with the Review team and the consultation process, set out a number of interconnected challenges facing young people which are covered in the report:
- System fragmentation: Poor coordination between employment services, education, health systems and local authorities, and fragmented schemes, benefit rules and a confusing training offer, can leave young people falling through the cracks at key transitions.
- Rising labour costs and hiring caution: Evidence suggests rising labour costs are the biggest cost pressure for employers, driving hiring caution in the context of wider employment rights reforms and AI adoption.
- Work readiness and skills: Employers seek work-ready candidates amid low levels of confidence that young people are prepared for the workplace by the education system, with gaps in digital, workplace and ‘soft’ skills.
- Work experience: Low levels of, and inequitable access to, work experience compounds the issue that a growing number of NEET young people have never worked and are missing out on opportunities to gain critical workplace skills and networks
- Careers advice: Access to high-quality careers advice is lacking and unequal, vocational routes and apprenticeships are not sufficiently promoted, and careers support diminishes further once young people leave education.
- Apprenticeship declines: With narrowing entry points and apprenticeship starts for 16–24 year olds falling by 35% since the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017.
- Health issues: 1 in 5 NEET young people now report mental health as their primary condition, more than double 2012 levels.
- Flexibility and perceptions of work: Young people value flexibility, work-life balance and purpose. A lack of flexibility is a key source of stress for young people and a reason they may leave or avoid a role
- Pastoral burden: For example, some employers express concern that their managers would require more support and guidance to hire, support and retain young workers with complex needs or mental health conditions.
The role of technology
Technology has a clear role to play in addressing many of the challenges the interim report identifies. But, as the report recognises, this is a systemic issue and tech must be viewed as an enabler of a more coherent, joined-up participation system rather than standalone tools or solutions.
- Flexible working and work experience: Flexibility is key to supporting at-risk groups such as disabled young people to participate in education, employment or training, and technology is a key enabler. Approaches such as virtual work experience also offer a route to broaden access to workplace exposure, especially for those in areas where local opportunities are scarce.
- Assistive and accessible technology: For disabled young people and those with specific adjustment needs, we believe that assistive and accessible technology has a key role to play: from screen readers and text to speech solutions to tools supporting executive function and sensory processing. Ensuring inclusive workplaces and learning environments will be pivotal if diagnosis is not to be a barrier to participation.
- Digital and human skills: As AI impacts entry-level roles, AI and data literacy – and the human skills needed to work in dynamic AI-enabled workplaces – will become key for entry-level roles and part of the adaptability and agility the report calls for. These core, transferable skills should therefore be understood as key to employment and the foundation for navigating a fast-changing labour market.
- Tech-enabled employment support: Only around one in five NEET young people receive meaningful employment support. Technology can extend the reach and personalisation of support, through solutions such as tech-powered jobs and training matching, analytics, skills translation and careers guidance.
- Enabling inclusive hiring: Recruitment has become more remote, automated and algorithmic, and may screen out young people without experience. Technology is therefore part of both the problem and the solution. Skills-based hiring solutions and tools intended to broaden talent pools and reduce bias in traditional hiring processes can expand entry routes.
- Joined-up data systems: The report finds that the system architecture, and insufficient data sharing, is a key issue. Interoperable data systems can join up education, health, welfare and employment services to support smoother transitions, enable earlier identification of and interventions around risk, and help locate the ‘hidden NEET’ population.
- Sector opportunities: Technology is a source of opportunity in its own right. Skills England's Annual Report points to expected growth in priority occupations, including in digital and technology. Aligning youth employment interventions with the IS-8 sectors and sector jobs plans would ensure that pathways into work feed directly into the skills the economy needs most.
Looking ahead
The interim report offers a thorough diagnosis of why so many young people are NEET. The task now is to move from diagnosis to delivery.
AI will continue to evolve the picture, particularly at the entry-level, but the report is right not to make bold assumptions about its impact at this stage. But whatever that impact, entry-level roles are the foundation of early careers, and protecting the first rungs of the ladder, while equipping young people with the skills and adaptability to work alongside new technologies, must be central to any response.
Although the present policy focus on young people is necessary, it should not come at the expense of the wider skills system. The recent defunding of management apprenticeships, for example, opens up a potential gap that will impact young people’s experience of work – with good managers key to their retention and development, and employers already reporting challenges supporting those with specific needs in the workplace.
The conclusion is clear: this is a multi-faceted national challenge that requires a coordinated national effort. techUK and our members stand ready to support this agenda, and we look forward to working with the Review as it moves into its next stage and turns this diagnosis into lasting reform.
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Authors
Jake Wall
Policy Manager, Skills and Future of Work, techUK
Jake has been the Policy Manager for Skills and Future of Work since May 2022, supporting techUK's work to empower the UK to skill, attract and retain the brightest global talent, and prepare for the digital transformations of the future workplace.
Previously, Jake was the Programme Assistant for Policy. He joined techUK in March 2019 and has also worked across the EU Exit, International Trade, and Cloud, Data Analytics and AI programmes.
He also holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex, as well as a BA(Hons) in International Politics from Aberystwyth University. During his time at Aberystwyth University, he won the International Politics Dissertation Prize.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- www.linkedin.com/jwwuk
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