The UK is on track to see more than 1.25 million young people not in education, employment or training by the early 2030s, a trajectory that should concern every employer. This is not a failure of ambition from young people. It is a failure of how we have designed the systems meant to support them into work.
Maxine Blake, Head of Employer Engagement at Nottingham College
Apprenticeships, once a clear and practical route into employment, are becoming harder to access and harder to complete. Changes such as the defunding of leadership and management apprenticeships are having unintended consequences. Without the ability to upskill existing staff, fewer people are ready to step into leadership roles, reducing progression and limiting space for new entrants. At the same time, the capacity to properly mentor and support young talent is being eroded.
Alongside this, the system is placing growing emphasis on formal maths and English qualifications as a gateway into work.
While well intentioned, this is creating real barriers, particularly for under-19s in areas where attainment has historically been lower. These young people are not lacking potential; they are being excluded before they have the chance to prove it.
This exposes a deeper misalignment between qualification and competence. Many roles rely on applied, practical skills, whether that is using ratios in construction or measurements in care. Employers understand this instinctively, yet the system still prioritises qualification before participation. Even where learners can complete these qualifications alongside their apprenticeship, many struggle, leading to dropouts and lost opportunities for both individuals and employers.
At the same time, entry-level roles themselves are becoming harder to access. Automation and AI are reshaping the labour market, reducing the number of traditional “first jobs” and raising the bar for entry. For young people already facing barriers, this compounds the challenge.
What is most striking is that a more flexible model already exists. Employers are given greater discretion for adult apprentices, with more emphasis on their ability to do the job and develop over time. Extending that same flexibility to younger learners would better reflect the reality of work and the ambition for lifelong learning.
This is where employers must step forward... not by changing policy themselves, but by shaping the conditions around it and using their collective voice to influence what comes next. In the immediate term, that means putting the right building blocks in place: creating accessible talent pathways, opening up lower-level entry routes, and designing roles that allow young people to step into work and build skills over time. It means looking beyond rigid qualification thresholds and placing greater value on aptitude, attitude and potential, while continuing to invest in progression so that experienced staff can open doors for those coming through. It also means working in partnership with providers such as Nottingham College to think differently about how talent is identified and developed — whether through pre-apprenticeship pathways, alternative entry points, or more contextualised approaches to skills that reflect the realities of the workplace.
When employers take these steps and demonstrate what works in practice, it builds a powerful evidence base for change. By coming together and showing that more flexible, inclusive approaches can deliver real outcomes; for businesses and for young people, employers and providers can give government the confidence to evolve policy in a way that reflects both economic need and lived experience. In this sense, leadership from industry does not sit in opposition to policy; it helps inform and strengthen it.
We are not short of talent... we are short of alignment. If we continue as we are, rising NEET figures will become inevitable. But if employers act now, while also helping to shape what comes next, that trajectory can still be changed.
Nottingham has a real opportunity to lead. By bringing together our businesses, Nottingham College and wider partners, we can create inclusive talent pathways that open doors for young people who might otherwise be left behind.
If we can show what works, building entry points around potential, embedding skills in real work, and supporting progression over time, we don’t just change outcomes locally. We create a model others can follow, helping to inform and strengthen future policy through real, lived success.
This is not about waiting for change. It is about showing what change looks like - together.
Because when a city aligns behind its young people, it doesn’t just respond to the challenge. It leads the solution.
If you’re an employer ready to rethink how talent is identified and developed, let’s start the conversation. Get in touch to explore how we can build more accessible pathways together.