Those furthest from the labour market: An inquiry into best practice that helps young people furthest from the labour market into employment

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Youth Employment was set up in 2014 with the aims of: promoting youth employment in all its forms and the role of young people within the economy; ensuring young people’s voices are heard; highlighting the need for quality opportunities; and sharing best practice. In the UK, the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24 has been consistently higher than that of older age groups since comparable records began in 1992. The 2017 Youth Jobs Index identified that nearly 2 million young people between 16-24 spend some time NEET (not in education, employment or training), with 1 in 10 young people (811,000) spending over a year NEET, an increase on the 714,000 young people found in this situation last year., This report focuses on supporting young people furthest from the labour market. The APPG sought to understand: how many young people would be included in this group; what are the main barriers; evidence and examples of working with young people ‘hidden’ from the official statistics; and what support is most effective in helping young people into education, employment or training. Findings include that: (1) too many young people still face barriers to employment; (2) there is also a concerning number of young people ‘hidden’ from the official statistics; these are young people who are NEET and not claiming welfare support; (3) new policy and funding models can create perverse implications for social mobility; and (4) young people furthest from the labour market face a number of barriers meaning it can be a struggle to complete programmes with pre-determined markers for achievements. The report makes a number of recommendations to government.