A shortage of soft skills, work readiness and resilience among young people risks fuelling Britain’s youth unemployment crisis, business leaders have warned.
Almost one million people aged 16 to 24 are classed as Neet, meaning not in education, employment or training, and ministers are particularly concerned about the number of young men out of work: 54 per cent of Neets are male.
The warnings emerged from research for the review of the Neet epidemic being led by the former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn, which is due to be published in the autumn. As part of that work, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) asked business leaders what barriers they faced when hiring young people.
The biggest challenge, cited by 41 per cent of employers in the survey of 500 businesses, was young adults’ level of “soft skills or work readiness”. The National Careers Service lists communication, decision-making, organisation and adaptability among the soft skills typically gained through schooling, work and life experience.
Bosses’ next biggest concern was work experience, cited by 40 per cent, while 32 per cent said resilience was a concern and 31 per cent worried about technical skills.
The findings land against a worsening statistical backdrop. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week showed an estimated 981,000 people were classed as Neet in the three months to June, a year on year increase of 30,000, of which men and boys accounted for 25,000. The total has now hovered close to the one million mark for months, a level last seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Milburn has called the Neet statistics a “scar on this country”. His final report, due in October, will include recommendations for bringing the numbers down, and research for his interim report, published in May, found that 84 per cent of Neets want to be learning or working. The government has already appointed the former Marks & Spencer chief Marc Bolland to rally employers behind a push to get young people into work.
Separate research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 37 per cent of employers had faced difficulties recruiting in the last year because applicants lacked relevant soft skills.
Tina McKenzie, the national chair of the FSB, said: “That’s why it is important not only to expand access to work experience and placements, but also to lay the foundations for employment success within the curriculum itself.
“Improving financial and enterprise education in schools, alongside the development of essential soft skills, will help equip students with the knowledge and confidence they need. When young people arrive in the workplace with a basic understanding of how working life, pay, and enterprise operate, they are much better prepared.”
Teachers share the concern. In a separate survey of more than 1,000 education professionals for Milburn’s review, 66 per cent said they believed young people’s preparedness for work had declined over the past five years, while 60 per cent reported a decline in soft skills over the same period. Nearly three quarters said there was too much focus on passing exams and that the curriculum should be broadened to include more work-related skills “without lowering academic standards”.
The review is not expected to lay the blame on schools alone. A source close to Milburn said: “While schools have to do more to focus on work readiness, employers have responsibility too, not least in expanding opportunities for youngsters.” Some large employers have begun to move, with McDonald’s launching 2,500 paid work experience placements aimed at young people facing barriers to employment.
Young people themselves report feeling underprepared. DWP research found that 47 per cent of those aged 18 to 24, and just 36 per cent of Neets, agreed that they felt ready for work when they left education. Less than half said their school or college sufficiently supported them to develop the skills they need for the future.
Ben Harrison, the director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said: “Young people need the right support at school and as they move into employment to build confidence, workplace skills and resilience, alongside access to health support where they need it.
“Employers have an important role to play too. We have heard from young people about recruitment processes that feel increasingly difficult to navigate, including the use of AI, repeated applications with little or no feedback, and expectations that candidates already have significant experience before they have had a chance to get a foot in the door.
“At a time when entry-level opportunities are already in short supply, these practices risk compounding the barriers young people face and making an already difficult transition into work even harder.”
