Asli Atay (Senior Policy Advisor, Work Foundation at Lancaster University) responds to the Prime Minister's speech on youth employment. She said:

“Putting technical and academic routes on an equal footing is a welcome and overdue step. The focus on local partnerships, real work experience, and earlier contact with employers should help more young people find a route into work that suits them.

“But skills and experience count for little without jobs to use them in. Over a million young people are not in education, employment, or training, and our research shows starter jobs have halved over the last decade.

“These pressures aren’t evenly shared. In too many communities, the pathways into sustainable work simply aren’t working, and the private sector alone is unlikely to fix that in the near future. That points to a bigger role for the public sector – a stronger Jobs Guarantee for young people, not built around placements in already insecure sectors like hospitality and retail, but focused on longer-term positions offering secure, socially valuable work, whether in care, local government or elsewhere.

“Early intervention is where the evidence is clearest. Young people consistently tell us that poor experiences of school, particularly where their needs went unsupported, leave a lasting impact on their confidence going into work. The 2028 timeline is sensible if it means getting this right, and strengthening the skills pipeline is an important step for the next generation. But it must be complemented by direct support to the million young people who need help now.”