Half of school leavers think they are unprepared for work, poll claims

A new poll from the IPPR think tank claims that only 47 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds felt ready for work when they left education, compared with 60 per cent of over-26s. Despite more schools claiming that they offer high-quality work experience, two in five 18- to 24-year-olds have never completed any work experience and feel unprepared for work as a result. By contrast, earlier generations – those in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s – are significantly more likely to have done so. The report argues that the number of young people missing out on these opportunities could have implications for social mobility, with 60 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds agreeing that work experience opportunities usually rely on who you know, not what you know.

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are already twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) than their better-off peers and there is a risk of deepening this inequality.

With nearly one million young people aged 16–24 now NEET, an 11-year high, the IPPPR claims that these findings point to a widening opportunity gap, where background plays an ever-growing role in shaping outcomes.

IPPR analysis suggests that delivering on the government’s opportunity mission – to break the link between a parent’s income and a child’s future prospects – will require a more ambitious and coordinated national effort.

To tackle the crisis, the report calls for a renewed social contract to include the principle that every generation should be better off than the last. It sets out a roadmap to achieve better outcomes for young people, with a real youth guarantee at its core: a national mission to ensure every young person has a fair chance to thrive.

The key recommendations include:

• Boost readiness and opportunities for work: Bolster the careers education system, increasing access to work experience for those most at risk of becoming NEET via a short-term wage subsidy programme
• Introduce an 80-hour enrichment entitlement and access to trusted adult relationships: Mirror the commitment to breakfast clubs in primary schools with after school clubs in secondary schools serving high-deprivation areas and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide safe spaces for young people
• Unlock access to apprenticeships: Set a national target for new apprenticeship starts, ringfence the Growth and Skills Levy for under-25s, and establish a new apprenticeship maintenance loan to remove financial barriers