The publication of the interim Milburn Review has reignited an important national conversation about young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Its central message is clear: too many young people are falling through the gaps of a system that was never designed around their lived realities.
But if we are serious about tackling the NEET challenge, we must challenge one of the most persistent myths in the debate, that young people lack ambition.
Our recent Youth Voice Project, delivered through the South Bristol Youth Guarantee and led by 224 Youth Zone, engaged 289 young people from diverse backgrounds across Bristol to explore their experiences of education, skills and employment. What they told us paints a very different picture.
Young people are not lacking ambition. They are lacking access, clarity and support.
Across our research, young people consistently described aspirations centred around independence, financial security, meaningful work and long-term stability. Many wanted careers, apprenticeships, creative opportunities and routes into skilled employment. Yet they also described systems that felt confusing, disconnected and difficult to navigate.
Up to 65% of young people reported feeling unprepared for their future. One in three did not know how to access opportunities. Between 40% and 50% were unclear where to go for support during key transition points. Perhaps most strikingly, 58% reported limited knowledge of career pathways despite being expected to make life-shaping decisions about their future.
These findings directly challenge any suggestion that disengagement is driven by a lack of aspiration. Instead, they point to a gap between ambition and opportunity.
The interim Milburn Review rightly highlights the growing complexity of transitions from education into employment. Our research found that age 16 remains one of the most significant pressure points in a young person’s journey. Too many young people progress into college, training or unemployment by default rather than through informed choice.
As one young person told us:
“We get told what options exist, but not how to actually get there.”
This should concern all of us.
If young people cannot clearly see pathways into employment, apprenticeships or further learning, we cannot be surprised when some disengage altogether.
The answer will not come from schools, employers, local authorities or youth organisations working in isolation.
It requires a collective approach.
One of the strongest messages from our Youth Voice Report was the importance of relationships. An overwhelming 88% of young people highlighted the value of having a trusted adult in their lives. Whether that person was a youth worker, mentor, teacher or support worker, young people repeatedly described the difference that consistent, trusted relationships made to their confidence and decision-making.
This is where youth work has a critical role to play.
For many young people, particularly those at risk of becoming NEET, youth workers are often the bridge between aspiration and action. They provide the guidance, encouragement and practical support that enables young people to navigate increasingly complex systems.
At 224 Youth Zone, we see this every day.
Through our youth work, mentoring programmes and youth-led participation work, we support young people not simply to access opportunities but to understand them, navigate them and believe they belong within them.
The Youth Voice Project itself demonstrated what happens when young people are genuinely involved in shaping services. Rather than being passive recipients, young people designed funding programmes, assessed applications, influenced investment decisions and generated powerful insight into the barriers they face.
The result was not only better engagement but better evidence.
The findings point towards a clear set of priorities if we are to reduce NEET numbers and improve outcomes:
- Clearer and more navigable pathways into education, training and employment.
- Stronger support during transition points, particularly at age 16.
- Greater visibility of vocational, apprenticeship and alternative pathways.
- More employer engagement and practical experiences.
- Long-term investment in trusted adults, mentoring and youth work.
- Youth voice embedded in the design of local and national systems.
The NEET challenge is often discussed as an employment issue. It is a systems issue.
Young people do not move through education, skills and employment in neat categories. Their experiences are shaped by relationships, confidence, wellbeing, opportunity, family circumstances and the support available around them.
If we want different outcomes, we need different approaches.
The interim Milburn Review provides an opportunity to rethink how we support young people. But meaningful change will only happen if we build systems with young people, not simply for them.
At 224 Youth Zone, our Youth Voice Project has shown that young people already know what needs to change. They are asking for clearer pathways, practical opportunities, trusted relationships and genuine involvement in decisions that affect their lives.
The question is whether we are prepared to listen.
Because if we are serious about tackling the NEET crisis, youth voice is not an optional extra. It is the starting point.
At 224 Youth Zone, we are committed to expanding that work across South Bristol. We want more young people to access mentoring, employability support, skills development opportunities and youth-led programmes that help them shape their own futures.
But achieving that vision requires partners who are willing to invest in long-term change.
We are therefore calling on local businesses, employers, philanthropists and civic leaders to join us as Founder Patrons of 224 Youth Zone.
Becoming a Founder Patron is more than a financial contribution. It is an investment in a generation of young people who have told us exactly what they need: clearer pathways, meaningful opportunities, trusted relationships and practical support to achieve their ambitions.
The findings from our Youth Voice Project show that young people already possess the ambition. Our collective responsibility is to ensure they have the opportunity.
If we are serious about addressing the NEET crisis, strengthening our local economy and creating brighter futures for young people, we must move beyond simply talking about the problem and start investing in the solutions.
The young people of Bristol have spoken.
Now is the time for all of us to act.
Contact us today to find out how you can be part of our pioneering approach and support young people thrive, not survive.
Read the full report here: