This is the fourth of six reports published to inform the ‘Youth Commission’: the Commission on Education and Employment Opportunities for Young People. The Youth Commission considered the current education and employment prospects for young people, and the likely impact of changes in policy and the labour market. Read our final report, published in December 2020.
The Youth Commission proposed new ideas for ensuring all young people have access to opportunity. It was kindly supported by Association of Colleges, Capital City Colleges Group, London South Bank University, NOCN and Prospects. Its commissioners were: Kate Green MP (until June 2020), Maggie Galliers CBE, Amy King and Jo Maher.
This report provides case study evidence of national and international approaches to youth education and employment, comparing them to the current situation in England, and drawing out key lessons. These case studies offer lessons both in building programmes, and in designing systems in which such programmes can be delivered. Taken together they provide a framework for exploring ways in which an effective and integrated system for delivering practical, sustainable and valuable support for young people can be created.
A case study approach allows us to examine the way in which different countries, states and organisations are meeting the needs of young people and to identify which aspects of those approaches can inform how systems and programmes could and should operate in England. This is not a call to import or replicate existing models, rather it is to identify how, and which aspects can aid our understanding and provide insights for policy and delivery.
The Youth Commission aims to find ways to improve education and employment opportunities for England’s 16-24-year olds. Its first report identified five key challenges:
- Supporting job quality, career progression, and economic security
- Better supporting 700,000 young people not in education, employment or training
- Increasing the number of young people qualified to at least Level 3
- Improving attainment in literacy and numeracy and other basic skills
- Creating a diversity of higher level learning routes through life
- Supporting job quality, career progression, and economic security.
