Labour minister Josh MacAlister has said the Government will combine stronger support for young people who are not in education, employment or training with clear expectations that those who can work should take up opportunities to do so.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, MacAlister said Labour’s approach to the growing number of young people classified as NEETs would be based on both opportunity and responsibility.
His intervention comes amid mounting concern over youth economic inactivity, with close to one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently outside education, employment or training. Recent debate has focused on how government can stop young people becoming detached from the labour market for long periods.
Support alongside expectations
MacAlister told Channel 4 that young people should receive proper help to move into education, training, apprenticeships or employment, but said the system also needed to set clearer expectations for those able to work.
That approach closely reflects former Labour minister Alan Milburn’s call for a new “deal” for young people, combining better employment support with a stronger obligation to participate. Milburn has argued that the current welfare system risks trapping too many young people in long-term inactivity and that the state needs to become much more active in helping them into work.
Labour expanding routes into jobs
The Government has already announced a series of measures aimed at making it easier for young people to move into work.
MacAlister recently confirmed that Labour is fully funding apprenticeships for eligible under-25s, while non-levy-paying employers — typically smaller businesses — will receive a £2,000 hiring payment when they recruit an apprentice under 25 from October.
The Government has also introduced foundation apprenticeships in sectors including construction, hospitality and retail, intended to provide entry-level opportunities for young people who may not be ready to move directly into a full apprenticeship.
MacAlister has previously told Parliament that Labour’s wider offer includes a £3,000 youth job grant for employers hiring 18 to 24-year-old apprentices who have been on Universal Credit for more than six months.
Youth Guarantee at heart of strategy
Labour’s Youth Guarantee is intended to ensure that every young person can access education, training, an apprenticeship or support into employment.
The Government is also working with employers, colleges, councils and regional authorities to expand careers advice, work experience and locally available apprenticeships.
In schools, ministers have committed to giving every young person access to two weeks of high-quality work experience during secondary education, with a more flexible model designed to expose pupils to employers and different career pathways before they leave school.
A tougher but more supportive approach
The political challenge for Labour is to strike a balance between avoiding a punitive welfare system and ensuring young people do not drift into years of inactivity.
MacAlister’s message is that expectations only make sense where real opportunities exist.
That means creating more apprenticeships and jobs, improving careers support and tackling the barriers that prevent young people from participating — while also making clear that those offered appropriate support should engage with it.
Labour’s emerging approach is therefore one of support matched by responsibility: invest more heavily in helping young people into work, but make clear that long-term disengagement cannot simply become the default for those who are able to participate.
