WHERE YOU LIVE SHAPES OPPORTUNITY Geography plays a central role in shaping young people’s employment prospects, and our findings highlight the importance of local labour market conditions and lived experience in shaping transitions into work. In Morecambe, young people pointed to long-term economic decline, limited job availability and challenges with transport and connectivity. While developments such as Eden Project Morecambe are seen as promising, there is scepticism about whether these changes will create meaningful local opportunities. In Liverpool, participants highlight a different set of challenges. Despite recent investment, some described feeling disconnected from opportunities and institutions, contributing to lower levels of engagement and trust. A LASTING IMPACT Experiences of education and training also shape young people’s trajectories. Across both Morecambe and Liverpool, some participants described school and college as marked by disruption, rather than as clear pathways into employment. Early disengagement or experiences of being ‘let down’ were found to have lasting effects, with many young people approaching later support with low confidence and limited trust. These challenges were often compounded by a lack of qualifications or a perceived mismatch with employer expectations. POLICYMAKERS AND EMPLOYERS There is a critical opportunity to strengthen pathways into work. Targeted policy interventions have the potential to improve both the availability and quality of entry-level opportunities. This includes expanding access to high-quality apprenticeships, strengthening vocational routes, and ensuring that young people are better supported to navigate transitions into employment. Employers also have a central role. Recruitment practices, investment in training, and the design of entry-level jobs influence who can access opportunities and how careers develop. Greater alignment between employers, education providers, and policymakers will be essential to improving outcomes. NAVIGATING THE PATH AHEAD Rising NEET levels reflect both cyclical pressures in the labour market and deeper structural challenges. Without targeted intervention, there is a risk that more young people will become disconnected from work, with longterm consequences for individuals and the wider economy. However, there is also an opportunity to reshape the system. By aligning national policy with local delivery, strengthening support for young people, and improving the quality and availability of entry-level jobs, clearer and more inclusive pathways into work can be created. Our analysis suggests that targeted reforms could significantly improve how young people start out in the labour market. Strengthening access to training, improving progression pathways, and reducing barriers to entry-level roles would enable more young people to move into secure and rewarding employment. Improving early-career experiences would also deliver wider economic benefits, supporting productivity and helping to address skills shortages across the economy. To address rising NEET levels and improve transitions into work, our report highlights three key priorities: • Adopt a bolder and more localised approach to the Youth Job Guarantee. • Strengthen the devolution roadmap in England to tackle place-based barriers to youth employment. • Boost support in education to improve young people’s transition into work and reduce the risk of disengagement. Emelia Wiliams, is a Research and Policy Analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University. The report Starting out: Boosting youth employment in local labour markets was co-authored by Dr Divya Jyoti, Dr Martin Quinn, Dr Beth Suttill, and Dr Peter Watt, of Lancaster University Management School; and Jessica Redmond, Emelia Williams, Jon Fitzmaurice, and Alice Martin, of the Work Foundation. emelia.williams@lancaster.ac.uk FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 37
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