𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Alan Milburn is right: Britain is facing a youth employment crisis and the Government cannot pretend it is somebody else’s problem. More than one million young people are now classed as NEETs — not in education, employment or training — and the number is rising fast. Behind the statistics are young people who overwhelmingly want to work, contribute and build successful lives, but who too often leave education without the confidence, skills or experience employers need.

One of Milburn’s most important points was that employers are increasingly less concerned about qualifications alone and more focused on whether young people are genuinely “work ready” — able to communicate, solve problems, adapt and operate professionally.

That reflects exactly what employers in engineering, manufacturing and technology tell me. Too many young people leave school with qualifications but without the workplace readiness needed to succeed. While there is rightly debate about the economy, declining entry-level opportunities and government policy, there is an unavoidable truth: our education system is struggling to prepare enough young people for work.

Surely the purpose of education must be to ensure every young person is career and life ready. That requires a significant shift away from exam results being treated as the sole measure of success. It means that the way schools are judged needs to change significantly. School leaders are good people, motivated about doing the right thing for their students. But punitive accountability measures and inadequate funding, leave us highly frustrated and with little ability to focus on employability.

For too long, schools have been judged overwhelmingly on GCSE grades, league tables and university progression. That route works brilliantly for some young people, but it cannot remain the only definition of achievement in a modern economy. The result is a system that leaves too many students disengaged, lacking confidence and unable to see a clear pathway into meaningful employment. This is especially true for disadvantaged students and many with special educational needs, who often struggle most within a rigid one-size-fits-all model.

Schools need the freedom and support to change. That means teaching and assessing academic subjects differently. Traditional exams alone do not prepare young people for the workplace. Greater use of coursework, continual assessment and employer-led projects would help students develop teamwork, resilience, communication and the ability to meet deadlines.

Recent reforms to post-16 qualifications are a step in the right direction. T-levels, for example, successfully combine technical education with real industry experience. But this approach should extend into GCSEs and lower-level qualifications too, because those formative years are crucial in shaping confidence, ambition and employability.

We also need to move beyond the outdated idea of a single week of work experience. Young people need sustained exposure to employers throughout their education so they can understand industries, develop professional behaviours and build confidence.

Businesses want to engage with schools and help develop future talent, but current structures often make that unnecessarily difficult. Government investment in meaningful employer engagement would ultimately reduce the huge long-term social and economic costs associated with rising NEET numbers.

There must also be a wider culture shift inside schools themselves. Too many schools unintentionally disempower students. We should instead treat young people as emerging professionals with high expectations, responsibility and respect. When students are trusted and challenged, they rise to it.

This is not theoretical. University Technical Colleges have been proving this model works for more than a decade. UTCs, introduced by former Education Secretary Lord Baker, combine academic learning with high-quality technical education and employer partnerships from age 14 onwards. More than 95% of UTC leavers progress into meaningful destinations, including employment, apprenticeships and higher education.

At UTC South Durham, employer engagement is embedded into the curriculum from day one. Students work directly with businesses on real projects, tackle genuine industry challenges and develop the professional behaviours employers expect. If Britain is serious about tackling youth unemployment, education policy must align far more closely with the realities facing both employers and young people.

Alan Milburn described this as a “change moment” and he is absolutely correct. The challenge now is whether we are prepared to rethink an education system designed for the past and build one that genuinely prepares young people for the workforce of the future.

• Tom Dower is Principal, UTC South Durham