Thousands of young people at risk of falling out of education, employment, or training once they leave school will be given career mentoring and life skills training to help them succeed in life.

A new Building Futures programme will offer 14-to-16-year-olds a ‘guiding hand’ as they navigate leaving school, with coaching, careers, and educational counselling, plus support for wellbeing and mental health such as dealing with relationships.

Targeted at up to 5,000 young people at risk of not being in education, employment, or training after they turn 18, the £15 million programme will give participants a mentor to offer sustained, personalised help and careers guidance.

Read more here.

The Cabinet Office announces 2,500 ambitious tech talents will be recruited into digital roles in government by June 2025 through new apprenticeship and early talent programmes.

This is being kickstarted by the new digital apprenticeship programme, which will support the recruitment of 500 early career entrants into digital roles this financial year across government. This new programme will provide the opportunity for both civil servants and new entrants to be recruited into the most in demand data and technology roles, such as Cyber Security Technologists and Software Developers.

The remaining 2,000 opportunities will include 1,300 additional digital apprenticeship programme roles, and 700 roles created through an expansion of existing departmental digital programmes, such as the Software Developer Programme.

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The National Living Wage will rise to two-thirds of average earnings.

The Chancellor commits to Low Pay Commission recommendations, with the latest forecasts showing a pay boost next year worth over £1,000 for 2 million low-paid workers. Successive rises mean a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will be over £9,000 better off than they would have been in 2010.

In a significant boost for the UK’s lowest paid, the Chancellor committed to accept the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations – which will be announced in November. Based on the Low Pay Commission’s latest forecasts, this would see the National Living Wage increase to over £11 an hour from April 2024 and would mean the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will increase by over £1,000 next year.

People currently aged 23 and over are eligible for the National Living Wage, with over 2 million workers on low pay set to benefit from the increase. The announcement, after successive rises since its introduction in July 2015, means a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will be over £9,000 better off than they would have been in 2010.

Each year, the independent Low Pay Commission produces recommendations to the Government on National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates. This year it is due to make recommendations for the rates that will take effect from April 2024, based on their remit which sets a target for the National Living Wage to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024 for workers aged 21 and over, taking economic conditions into account.

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The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at its recent policy meeting after a series of increases, reflecting falling inflation and weakening growth prospects.

Interest rates remain unchanged but at a 15-year high.

Inflation falling but still high.

Labour Market starting to cool – ONS data for May to July 2023 compared with the previous three-month period (February to April) showed that:

• The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 4.3%
• The proportion of those aged 16 to 64 in work decreased from 76.0% to 75.5%
• The number of job vacancies continued to decline from past very high levels.
• A weaker labour market could lead to slowing wage growth and less risk of inflation.

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Rethinking traditional criteria – unconventional paths to entry-level roles

In this webinar, our expert panellists will delve how they can make their hiring practices as open, inclusive, and effective as possible to ensure they get the best staff from the widest talent pools. By attending, you will learn how to harness the potential of individuals who may not fit the traditional mould but possess skills and qualities that can enhance your organisation.

The panellists will cover:

1. Strategies for hiring based on attitude, aptitude and potential rather than previous results and qualifications
2. The value of trying new ways of getting to know candidates that bypass CVs, as they are often not fit for purpose during the early careers phase
3. Practical tips for where to look to diversify talent pools and bring new energy into your organisation.

Sign up here.

Youth unemployment risks diminishing the potential of young people and denting their long-term job prospects. But it could also be costing the economy billions in lost GDP.

According to new calculations from the Youth Employment Group (YEG), reducing the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to the same levels as the Netherlands could generate £69 billion in GDP.

More than 790,000 young people are currently NEET, a 23% rise over the last two years [2]. This equates to 12.5% of all British young people across the UK, a figure that rises to 13.8% when looking at England alone. The YEG points to The Netherlands, the country boasting the lowest figure in the OECD (4.4%) [3], as the example to follow. In a bid to reduce unemployment and protect the life chances of young people, the YEG has today
launched the “Young Person’s Guarantee”. If adopted by policymakers in England, young people under the age of 25 will receive support to access employment, training, or education within four months of leaving employment or formal education.

Read the joint letter to the Prime Minister, note – signed by MtW.

Read more here.

Report Entry and Retention in the Labour Market: Narratives and Solutions for Neet and Care Leaver Employment Support

What are the barriers to employment for young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or who have experience of care?

What works best to support them? In partnership with the Education Development Trust (EDT), ersa’s latest report draws conclusions from a survey of practitioners and young people to understand the barriers they face, what services are offered, and what is considered to work best in helping NEET young people – and especially care leavers – to progress into work.

More than one in ten young people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 are classified as not in employment, education, or training (NEET), and the rate of young people being NEET has not fallen below 10% over the last twenty years.

We know that being NEET can have immediate negative consequences for a young person, such as decreasing levels of self-esteem, increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours such as substance misuse and criminal activities, and increasing their chances of living in poverty. While there has been much research into the factors that lead to becoming NEET, how these can be mitigated, and the impacts of being NEET, there is not the same body of evidence to inform the support provided to young people to move into and stay in education, employment, and training (EET). This study looks at what the existing research has to say and surveys young people and the practitioners who work with them on four key questions:

• What is currently offered in terms of in-work support for young people and care leavers?
• What are the key barriers to EET for young people and care leavers who are NEET?
• What is currently offered to young people and care leavers in terms of entry to EET support?
• What types of provision are most effective at dealing with the barriers young people face to EET?

Read more here

Thousands of low-cost training spaces available in boost to green jobs sector

Thousands of new training places are available for retrofitting, heat networks and heat pump installations.

*Up to 8,000 people will be trained in retrofitting and installing insulation
*A further 4,000 trainees will receive £500 discount on training to install and maintain heat networks
*Launch of first-ever apprenticeship to train next generation of heat pump installers

Under the £8.85 million Home Decarbonisation Skills Training scheme, free or low-cost courses will be available through training providers, such as colleges and accreditation providers, across England. Applicants simply sign up for the training through their chosen provider and confirm they are eligible for the grant. Thousands of trainees will receive the practical training needed for heat networks, including feasibility
and design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Courses will be available to trainees from October 2023 to April 2024.

 

Read more here

Further details on how the expansion of the Youth Offer to inactive claimants, for the first time, will begin immediately to help young people into work and improve well-being. This will give over 30,000 of 16-24-year-olds the option to access three types of support through the Youth Offer: additional time with a Work Coach early in their claim; access to Youth Hubs; and Youth Employability Coaches.

Read more here.

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system in England. From
September 2025, it will create a single funding system to help people pay for college or university courses,
and train, retrain and upskill flexibly over their working lives.

The LLE will allow people to develop new skills and gain new qualifications at a time that is right for them.
This could be through a full-time degree, or individual modules, or other courses (like higher technical
qualifications).

Click here to read more.