Thought Leadership
August 12, 2026
Youth unemployment is back at the top of the national agenda in the UK and the policy landscape is shifting fast enough that employers who aren't paying attention risk being caught flat-footed. The dynamics driving this moment, however, are ones that will resonate far beyond the UK.
Recently, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed youth unemployment at 16.2%, with the population of young people classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) now over one million. It's worth pausing on that acronym, because it covers an enormous range of circumstances: school leavers struggling to find a first job, graduates facing a shrinking market, young people managing health conditions, and those who've simply fallen through the gaps of a system not designed with them in mind.
The UK's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions was unequivocal about the shadow this casts on the country's productivity and social fabric. A major government-commissioned review by Alan Milburn will make recommendations in September. The direction of travel is clear: the government has pivoted skills and funding policy firmly towards young people, and the window of opportunity for employers to get ahead of that shift is right now.
I recently hosted a webinar on this topic with LJ Rawlings, CEO of Youth Employment UK, and we left with some true clarity and advice for employers as we face this changing landscape.
The first and most critical step for employers to realize is that the youth population is far more varied than the label suggests. Within that one acronym sits school leavers, graduates navigating a shrinking job market, young people at risk of long-term disengagement, and those managing health conditions, caring responsibilities, or housing instability. Because the population is not a monolith, the policy response needs to be targeted; so does the employer response.
This isn't just a social obligation, though it is that too. Alan Milburn wrote movingly in his interim report about a “lost generation” of young people not in education, employment or training as “the sons and daughters of this country” emphasising that they’re not mere statistics, but individuals failed by systemic issues. The business case is just as compelling. Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the UK's professional body for HR, puts the cost of losing a new recruit at well over £30,000. Hiring from a broader, younger talent pool and investing in supporting them effectively after starting so that they thrive, is a workforce strategy question, not just a corporate social responsibility one.
Here's where the media narrative has done real damage. The idea that young people are demanding astronomical salaries, full remote working, and minimal commitment is, frankly, not what the data shows. Youth Employment UK's annual census, drawing on voices from over 8,000 young people, tells a completely different story.
What young people are asking for is fair pay, and by that they mean payment proportionate to the role, not systematically less simply because of their age. They want purpose: a clear line of sight into how their work fits into the organisation's mission. They want progression: meaningful training that leads somewhere. And they want the small, practical flexibilities that make it possible to actually show up: a slightly later start occasionally to catch an unreliable bus, or a brief adjustment to accommodate caring responsibilities.
None of these are unreasonable asks. They are, if anything, what any employee at any career stage would want.
The gap between offer and first day is underused. Too often, employers say "see you on the 1st" and leave it at that. That window is an opportunity that is often squandered. Instead, employers should use this time to lower the anxiety of the unknown: sharing what the first week will look like, humanising the environment with short team introductions, and signposting free resources to build confidence before day one. Young people, many of whom have moved straight from the highly structured environment of school, benefit enormously from knowing what to expect before they arrive.
Once they're in, the principles are straightforward but easy to skip when things get busy: get to know your people as individuals, set clear mutual expectations from day one, and separate the mentoring relationship from the line management relationship. There's good evidence that pairing young people with someone two generations their senior, rather than someone in a parental age range, can create a more open dynamic. Reverse mentoring works too; learning in the modern workforce must flow both ways.
The most common way a young person tells you something isn't working is not a conversation. It's a resignation letter, or simply not showing up on Monday morning. Particularly among young women, there's a documented reluctance to raise concerns or ask for what they need, driven by a fear of losing the job. If you're waiting for them to come to you, you're probably already too late.
A weekly, thirty-minute informal check-in can make an enormous difference in catching these silent frictions. Aligning the work a young person is doing day-to-day with their training curriculum matters too; it makes learning feel coherent rather than an add-on. And for sole apprentices or sole young hires in smaller organisations, finding ways to connect them with a wider cohort, such as through professional bodies, training provider networks, or employer associations, can help to address the isolation that can quietly undermine retention.
This shifting landscape can feel overwhelming for even the most senior employers, but the steps to address this are readily accessible. In the UK every job centre now has a dedicated employer engagement lead, tasked specifically with connecting local employers with the young people they're supporting, offering everything from recruitment events to free interview days. For employers in other markets, the equivalent is worth finding: local workforce development boards, government employment programmes, and industry associations often offer similar bridging support with far less friction than employers expect.
The youth employment policy environment is complex and still evolving. But the direction is set, some incentives are in place with an expectation that more are to come and the talent is there. The question now is whether employers, particularly the small and mid-sized businesses that make up so much of every economy, choose to lean into this moment or wait for it to pass.
Waiting is the riskier option. The cost of inaction, measured in unfilled roles, high turnover, and missed talent, is higher than most businesses appreciate. And the support available to get started has never been more accessible.
Jenny Pelling is Director of Skills and Strategy at Kaplan Professional UK, where she leads on apprenticeships, employer partnerships, and workforce development.
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