Plans to create 1,500 new apprenticeships in North East businesses by March 2029 must be “just the start” of the drive to end the region’s youth unemployment crisis, according to North East mayor Kim McGuinness. Council leaders signed off on the pilot programme this week, which aims to provide more opportunities for young people at risk of slipping out of education or work.
Region's NEET rate highest in England
The North East has the highest rate in England of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), at 19.6% as of March 2026 – equating to roughly 59,600 people. There is mounting concern across the country about the NEET crisis, with former health secretary Alan Milburn leading a review into how to prevent a “lost generation”.
At a meeting in Blyth on Tuesday, the North East mayoral authority cabinet gave its backing to the region becoming a pilot area for a new apprenticeship brokerage scheme backed by £10 million of Government funding. The scheme aims to build stronger connections between businesses and young people, improve employers’ capacity to take on apprentices, and provide clear pathways into local jobs – initially focused on leisure and tourism, housing, and advanced manufacturing.
Pilot targets 375 NEET starts
The pilot is expected to deliver 1,500 additional apprenticeship starts for young people aged 16 to 24 by March 2029, of which 375 are expected to be NEETs. However, it is expected to be expanded further, with the mayor’s office expecting a second tranche of funding from the Department for Work and Pensions to boost the pilot further.
Ms McGuinness told Tuesday’s meeting that the 1,500 opportunities created “has to just be the start”. She added: “It [the NEET rate in the North East] is not acceptable and we are not doing enough yet to help get them onto the career ladder. I strongly believe that every child, regardless of their background, every young person deserves opportunity and they should not be met with dead ends. They should be met with the tools that they need to get on.”
Employers and small businesses respond
Sunderland City Council leader Chris Eynon named Nissan and Northumbrian Water as major regional employers who were keen to take part in the apprenticeship pilot. The Reform UK councillor added: “There are too many people who are NEET. as Einstein said, if we keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome that is insanity. The good opportunity with the apprentice brokerage pilot is to try and break that cycle of going after the same previous approach but not getting the desired outcome.”
Colin Ferguson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Newcastle City Council, welcomed a commitment to support more small businesses who feel it is a risk for them to offer an apprenticeship. He said that it was essential that as many small businesses as possible “feel like they can take on an apprenticeship, to do it safely, do it productively”.
