Former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Milburn has warned that failing to act on the crisis of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) will "cost lives" and see another generation failed. Writing for The Mirror, he called for urgent action to prevent the numbers from spiralling.
One million young people at risk
Milburn highlighted that one million young people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training, representing one in eight of that age group. He described this as "a generation at risk of being lost," noting that the situation is not normal: in the Netherlands the figure is 4%, while in the UK it is 13%, with only Romania worse.
Six in ten of these young people have never had a job, and thousands remain in their bedrooms. Milburn argued that school is not preparing them for work, the NHS is writing them off as sick, and the welfare system spends 25 times more keeping them on benefits than helping them into work.
International comparisons and investment
Milburn pointed to countries that have addressed the issue, noting that Denmark spends four times as much as the UK on getting young people into work and has a NEET rate one third lower. Germany spends three times as much, while UK investment in employment support has fallen by two thirds in a decade.
He argued that the status quo is failing a generation and that doing nothing costs far more in lost skills, slower growth and an unaffordable benefits bill. "Above all, it costs lives," he wrote.
Calls for a Youth Test and public sector leadership
Milburn referenced past schemes, including the Youth Training Scheme in the 1980s and the New Deal in the late 1990s, which he said received far more investment than today's Youth Guarantee, currently only 15% of the 1980s scheme and less than half of the 1990s New Deal.
He proposed a "First Chance" initiative for employers to give young people a first step into work, noting that businesses including M&S and John Lewis are signing up. He also argued the public sector must lead, since young people make up 11% of the workforce but fewer than 5% of local government staff are under 25.
Milburn recommended a new "Youth Test" to be built into government day-to-day operations, so that every policy supports more jobs for the young. He concluded that backing the next generation should be the government's defining mission, stating: "It's time to back the next generation."
