One in eight 16 to 24 year olds in the UK are not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Whilst policymakers and employers often point the finger at a “lack of work readiness”, evidence shows a more complex reality: insecurity, structural discrimination, and an employment system that often fails to meet young people halfway.

Not everyone gets a fair shot at work. Research from University College London finds that ethnic minority graduates from a low socio-economic background are 45% less likely to be offered entry-level professional roles compared to more advantaged white applicants.

Even when in employment, young people face real struggles to get enough hours or access basic protections like holiday and sick pay. Our UK Insecure Work Index 2024 finds that the rate of severely insecure work has risen more steeply among young workers in recent years which, and together with a rise in youth unemployment, this suggests a challenging job market for young people.

Frequently, readiness for work among young people comes up as a major issue for why they are struggling to find work. The Institute of Student Employers’ (ISE) Student Development Survey 2025 recently found that 54% of employers reported that graduates did not meet expectations in self-awareness and 46% reported concerns about resilience.

This perception of young workers is perpetually recycled, but we also need to flip it and ask whether employers are ready to take on young people in their workplaces.

This is exactly the theme we are exploring as part of a new partnership project between the Work Foundation, Runnymede Trust, and the Youth Futures Foundation. Together we are delivering place-based research in Bradford, Leeds, Brent, and Walsall with local employers, we are exploring opportunities and challenges they face in addressing the recruitment and retention of young people and tackling ethnic disparities.

Figure 1. Employment of the resident population aged 16-64 per area, July 2023 to June 2024

Source: ONS annual population survey: workplace analysis

Figure 2. A comparison of the Claimant Count by age by the regional and local level, January 2025

Source: ONS Claimant Count by sex and age

The research focuses on four areas where youth unemployment is particularly high for those with Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Black heritage. For all areas, the proportion of workers aged 16 to 19 is less than the national average. This is also the case in Brent for workers aged 20 to 24. Further, with the exception of Leeds, the proportion of young people aged 18 to 24 on the Claimant Count is higher than the national average, significantly so for Bradford and Walsall.

Some of the emerging themes include:

1. The skills-experience cycle: employers report a lack of good managers and support structures for new hires, as well as perceptions of young people trapped in a cycle where they can’t get a job because they don’t have experience and can’t gain experience because they can’t get a job.
2. Communication, outreach, and engagement: employers describe a lack of connection with hardest to reach young people as they “don’t see eye-to-eye”.
3. Job design, pay, and resourcing: employers state that budget cuts often target apprenticeships, traineeships, and internships as they are seen as costly with limited immediate returns.

If you would like to take part in the research, please get in touch with Emelia Williams, Research and Policy Analyst . To learn more about the findings, sign up to our newsletter to be notified when the final report will be published later this year.

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