Youth Employment – 2024 Outlook

In August 2024 the Youth Futures Foundation released their Youth Employment Outlook for 2024 which brings together the latest picture on youth employment, youth employment in an international context, the politics of youth employment and young people’s outlook on the current labour market.

Focusing on youth employment:

• NEET rates in the UK are worsening, with 872,000 young people out of education, employment or training
• Young men and young people from certain ethnic minority backgrounds experience higher NEET rates.
• There is significant regional variation, with the North East seeing the highest NEET rate at 15%.

One of the main takeaways from the report is the NEET rate…

What is a NEET rate?
the proportion of the population of young people not enrolled on an education or training course, working or studying towards a qualification, or have not had job related training or education in the last four weeks (for the purpose of this report, the NEET young people are aged 16-24).

Delving further into young people’s outlook on the labour market in 2024:

• Young people perceive that finding a job has become more difficult, but many remain optimistic about the future.
• There is high awareness of many services available to find career, job and training opportunities, with 79% of young people aware of job websites such as Glassdoor, Indeed and TotalJobs.
• 16 to 25-year-olds face significant barriers to entering the world of work and the most commonly cited perceived barrier is a lack of training, skills and work experience.
• While apprenticeships are seen as helpful, some young people encounter significant barriers to accessing them

At GEM Partnership we truly believe that people are the key to the success of an organisation and this philosophy is at the heart of everything we do. Our recruitment isn’t just about supplying the client to fill their required positions; in this dynamic market it’s about futureproofing our apprentices and learners skillset to match the demands of the client. Our path to success lies in embracing change, working in partnership with our clients to futureproof their organisations and fostering a centric approach by consulting with the apprentices/learners and the client at every stage of the journey.

• We can consult with you in regards to your apprenticeship levy and can also transfer funds from GEM Partnership’s own levy
• We can carry out a skills needs analysis with your existing workforce, allowing us to identify the most appropriate training pathways to maximise your return on investment, or source and attract apprentices who can thrive within your environment and provide the right skills to support the evolving talent requirements and create a sustainable workforce which drives innovation and growth. This will then support with successful succession planning for your organisation.

Given the statistics on NEET rates, and the fact that young people remain optimistic about their employment future there is a huge opportunity to invest in both their and your future.

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