The Young People We Cannot Afford to Lose

Today, I was at the Centre for Social Justice in London for a discussion chaired by Jo Coburn, with the Rt Hon Alan Milburn and the Rt Hon Michael Gove, about youth unemployment, education and the growing number of young people becoming disconnected from work, learning and, in some cases, wider society.

There was much to reflect on, but one point stayed with me.

This is not simply an unemployment problem.

It is a problem of detachment.

When a young person falls out of education, training or work, it is rarely because they woke up one morning and decided they had nothing to offer. More often, they have been quietly losing their connection to systems that were supposed to help them thrive.

They may have struggled at school. They may have experienced poor attendance, exclusion, anxiety, caring responsibilities, poverty, poor mental health or a lack of confidence in their own ability. They may simply have reached the point where nobody was asking what they needed, what they were good at or what might make a future feel possible.

By the time we describe them as NEET and pin that dreadful term used to describe young people who are “not in education, employment or training to their chests, the damage may already have been done.

For those of us in the North East, this conversation matters enormously.  We know that our young people are talented, resilient and ambitious and yet, the North East consistently records youth economic inactivity at around 17.5% to 20.4%, which is nearly double the rates seen in some of the southern regions at 9% to 12.1%.

Far too often the opportunities available to our young people are shaped by postcode, family income, transport links, confidence, connections and whether they happen to fit neatly into a system designed around academic success.

Not every child will thrive through the traditional route of school, GCSEs, sixth form and university. That does not make them less capable. It means we need to become much better at recognising potential in all its forms.

The Rt Hon Michael Gove suggested today that “our children need to be tested more”.  I’m not sure I agree with him on that one, but I do agree when he says technical education needs parity with academic education, and for that to happen we need to “get serious”.

For too long, technical education has been treated as a lesser option rather than an equal route to a good career, financial independence and a meaningful life. It should not be seen as the choice for young people who have somehow failed. It should be valued as a route for young people who want to build, create, repair, care, design, lead and contribute.

The North East has brilliant colleges, employers, training organisations and voluntary sector providers. We also have sectors crying out for skilled people, from construction and green energy to health and care, digital, advanced manufacturing and the creative industries.

Yet we still allow too many young people to drift between systems.

The panel returned repeatedly to the need for greater local accountability. Labour markets are local, but much of the policy making remains national. Whitehall can create frameworks, but it cannot know every young person, every employer, every community or every barrier standing in the way.

That local understanding matters.

A young person in Gateshead, Sunderland, South Shields, Middlesbrough or rural Northumberland may need something very different from the support offered through a national programme designed at a distance. Some will need a simple connection to an employer or college. Others will need sustained, patient and trusted support over many months.

What they all need is someone who refuses to allow them to disappear.

The Dutch model discussed today offered a powerful challenge. When a young person falls off their agreed plan, someone is accountable for finding out why. Someone follows up. Someone quite literally goes along to their home and knocks on the door.

Imagine what would change if every young person in the North East knew there was a named adult, organisation or local partnership responsible for ensuring they did not fall through the gaps.

This is not about surveillance or blame. It is about belonging.

It is about saying: you matter, we have not given up on you and there is still a place for you here.

There was also an important challenge for the voluntary and community sector. Trusted relationships, flexibility and community reach are invaluable, particularly for young people who have lost faith in formal systems. But good intentions are not enough. We have to be able to demonstrate outcomes.

Not simply how many people attended.

Not simply how many programmes were delivered.

But whether a young person moved into a positive, sustainable next step and remained there.

That is the real test.

For the North East, the opportunity is clear. We can, and we must build a system that brings schools, colleges, councils, employers, health services and community organisations together around the individual young person.

Not a system that asks young people to fit around its rules.

A system that is prepared to fit around their lives.

Because youth disengagement is not inevitable. It is the result of choices about where we invest, what we value and whether we are willing to act early enough.

The question is not whether we can afford to do more.

The question is whether we can afford to keep losing young people who have so much to offer.

The promise of deeper devolution gives me hope. The job of work for all sectors, but especially the VCSE, is to be ready for it when it comes. We can't be messing about around the edges of this problem. We need solutions we can scale and scale quickly.