Working with the National Institute for Social and Economic Research (NIESR), Impetus analysed the government’s new Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset to uncover the clearest picture yet of employment outcomes for young people.
The findings have important implications for delivery organisations, funders, and policymakers.
Finding 1: Young people with better qualifications are much less likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)
Making sure young people get good qualifications is an essential foundation
In some respects, this finding is obvious – but the impact of better qualifications is bigger than you might think. While 29% of young people without level 2 qualifications (GCSE equivalent) by age 18 were NEET, only 15% of young people with those qualifications were NEET. For young people with level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent), this figure drops to 8%. Each extra step up the qualifications ladder halves your chances of being NEET.
Finding from Report 1: Youth Jobs Gap: Establishing the Employment Gap
Finding 2: Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are 50% more likely to be NEET than their similarly qualified but better-off peers
Qualifications alone are not enough
We already know young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to get good qualifications than their better-off peers. So it’s no surprise that we found they were twice as likely to be NEET. But for all the value of qualifications, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are still much more likely to be NEET even if they do get the qualifications. To support these groups, it’s not enough to focus on education – there are other issues too.
Finding from Report 1: Youth Jobs Gap: Establishing the Employment Gap
Finding 3: The variation between different local authorities within a region are much bigger than the variation between different regions
We should stop talking about regional differences and take a much more tailored, local approach
With the support of KPMG and London Councils, we took deep dives into different English regions. While the differences between the regions are small, differences within regions are large – a young person educated in Sandwell is twice as likely to be NEET as a young person educated in Warwickshire. And there are big differences between different parts of combined authority areas too. To tackle youth unemployment, it doesn’t make sense to target a specific region – we need to focus at a much more local level.
Findings from Reports 4, 5 and 8: Youth Jobs Gap: The Employment Gap in the North West | Youth Jobs Gap: The Employment Gap in the West Midlands | Youth Jobs Gap: The Employment Gap in London
Finding 4: Three quarters of NEET young people have been NEET for at least 12 months
Tackling the issues that cause people to be NEET for the long-term must be a central plank of any youth employment strategy
There’s often an assumption that lots of people aren’t NEET for very long and don’t need much help to move back into work, education or training. But actually, most of the people who have been NEET for at least 3 months have actually been NEET for at least 12 months. Many of these young people will require more intensive support, and while this work is difficult and expensive, it's essential if we don’t want to write off hundreds of thousands of young people.
Findings from Report 6: Youth Jobs Gap: The long-term NEET population
Finding 5: LEO data enables us to measure the success of interventions
We can use this evidence to expand what works to benefit more young people
For the first time, LEO data enables us to evaluate the success of NEET-to-EET interventions in a way that’s been possible in sectors like education and health for years. We benchmarked Resurgo, one of our longstanding charity partners, and found that the young people they worked with were twice as likely to move into work, education or training as NEET young people more generally. We need to make these kinds of comparisons more common to ensure every young person gets the best support they need to succeed.
Findings from Report 7: Youth Jobs Gap: Benchmarking Resurgo
Youth Jobs Gap series reports:
- Report 2: Youth Jobs Gap: Higher Education
- Report 3: Youth Jobs Gap: Apprenticeships
- Report 7: Youth Jobs Gap: Benchmarking Resurgo
- Methodology: Youth Jobs Gap methodology
Youth Jobs Gap series blogs and webinars:
- Webinar and blog: Youth Jobs Gap webinar: Establishing the Employment Gap by Samantha Windett, Director of Policy at Impetus
- Blog: Youth Jobs Gap: How early disadvantage impacts youth employment outcomes by our research partner NEISR
- Webinar: Youth Jobs Gap: The long-term NEET population by Samantha Windett, Director of Policy at Impetus
- Interview and blog: Key findings from 'Youth Jobs Gap: The Employment Gap in London' by Samantha Windett, Director of Policy at Impetus. Interview with Andy Ratcliffe, former CEO at Impetus
You can access the full collection of reports and webinars in the Youth Jobs Gap series above. If you have any questions, or want to talk about our findings, get in touch: policy@impetus.org.uk
