Career Connect welcomes the latest White Paper but urges the Government not to ignore 16-17-year-olds in its “Youth Guarantee” and highlights the need for careers support from an early age.
Career Connect is calling on the government to extend the age range of its recently announced Youth Guarantee to include 16–17 year olds. The Youth Guarantee, which was recently unveiled as part of the government’s Get Britain Working white paper, provides 18–21 year olds in England with access to education and training or help to find a job or apprenticeship.
Career Connect is headquartered in Liverpool, which has also been highlighted as one of eight youth “trailblazer” areas to kickstart the “youth guarantee”. While Career Connect welcomes the government’s plans to increase the number of young people in work or education under the new Youth Guarantee, the charity is calling for the same level of support to be provided for 16-17 year olds. In October 2024, there were almost 200,000 young people aged 16-17 who were either NEET[1], or their education, employment or training status was classed as “Not Known”.
Early intervention is key to success
The charity, which works to empower individuals of all ages to move forward in employment, education or training, highlights that early intervention is key to making the proposed policy a success.
Career Connect CEO Sheila Clark.
Speaking on the reforms, Career Connect CEO Sheila Clark, said: “Research shows us that if people aren’t on an employment, education or training pathway by age 16-17, the likelihood of them having poor employment outcomes as adults rapidly increases. Early intervention is fundamental to the success of the government’s plans to increase the number of young people in work or education and 16-17 year olds should not be neglected in the new Youth Guarantee, it really is a case of invest to save.
“There are almost a million young people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training (NEET)[2] and we absolutely welcome the new proposals to tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity, as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper. However, greater clarity on support for 16–17 year olds would be welcomed, particularly regarding those with complex needs such as ADHD and mental health challenges.
“Worryingly, the numbers of young people leaving school with identified social, emotional and mental health support needs has doubled over the past five years. We are also seeing rising numbers of young people with limited or no engagement with school, which is a major contributing factor to being NEET at 16-17. The UK has rising rates of persistent school absenteeism and students missing in education, while the number of pupils being home educated continues to increase rapidly. Figures released in the autumn indicated that 111,700 pupils were home educated, up from an estimated 92,000 in 2023. This upward trend is not new.
A pivotal transition point
“We are seeing growing numbers of 16-17 year olds reaching this pivotal transition point, who for a variety of long-term systemic reasons, are facing barriers to accessing careers support, employment, education or training. As a charity working to drive social mobility by enabling more people to access and succeed in education, training and employment, we know from experience and research that early intervention, at a localised level, is crucial to keeping young people engaged. This means providing targeted, enhanced, careers support at a early age.”
Career Connect delivers several localised early intervention programmes that have seen positive impact in improving the prospects of young people who are NEET or at risk of NEET including Sefton NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) Reduction and Early Intervention Service
[1] * The term NEET applies to young people between 16 to 24 years who are not in education, employment or training.
[2] * NEET is defined as young people aged 16 to 24 years who are not in education, employment or training.
