As new ONS figures show almost one in seven young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET), West London is due to trial new support to help young residents with a health issue or disability get ‘work ready’.  

‘Good Work’ charity Shaw Trust is funding and designing the new service, which will be evaluated by Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and launched in partnership with the West London Alliance (WLA). 

Nearly one million young people in the UK are NEET, up by more than a fifth since the pandemic. L&W research shows that three in five young people (58%) who are neither learning nor earning have never had a paid job and over 200,000 young people are claiming benefits but assessed as too ill to work.  

The service is designed for young adults aged 18-24 with health conditions who are not currently looking for work (economically inactive). Many of these young people missed out on in-person education during Covid, didn’t have access to work experience, and lost the chance to develop the crucial soft skills needed in early careers.   

The trial will: 

• identify and engage young people with health conditions who are economically inactive 

• build their confidence and increase their understanding of work and employment through resilience coaching, soft-skill workshops, and informal introductions with local employers 

• refer young people into targeted, specialised employment programmes like Connect to Work once they are ready to join the workforce. 

Initially launching in the capital, this ‘test and learn’ approach will be expanded to a rural area to understand what works in different environments. 

Shaw Trust says the new service offers ‘a specialist pathway to complement the Government’s Youth Guarantee, extending support to young adults whose health conditions currently sit outside its standard reach’. The charity hopes that the new service could also inform future programmes developed following the Milburn Review, the UK Government’s independent investigation into rising economic inactivity among young people. 

Chris Luck, CEO of  Shaw Trust, said: 

“So many young people have missed years of in-person education and socialising – foundational experiences which help us to develop the soft skills that are so vital at work. And they’re starting their working lives in a time of unprecedented social and technological change, with increasing competition for jobs, including from AI. Throw health conditions and disabilities into the mix, and you have a perfect storm of factors working against them.  

“We need to urgently redress the balance to give these young people a fighting chance – and that’s exactly what we plan to do with this new innovation trial.”

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute, said:   

“Our research shows that around three in four young people who are not in education, employment or training are not getting active help to find work, including many of those who are disabled or have a long-term health condition. As a result, these young people are too often overlooked for support and risk long-term harm to their career prospects. L&W is pleased to be partnering with Shaw Trust on this trial, to test and learn how we can support young people on their pathway to work.”

Cllr Peter Mason, London Councils’ Executive member for Planning and Skills, and Leader of Ealing Council, said: 

“More and more young people are out of work because of health problems. In England, the number of young people who aren’t looking for a job or can’t work due to health issues has more than doubled in the last ten years.

“But we believe that with the right kind of support, young people can fulfil their potential – this is good for them, and it’s also good for our communities.”