It’s genuinely encouraging to see
The Sun putting serious weight behind this issue. For too long the NEET crisis
has sat in the background while everyone talks about housing targets, economic
growth and productivity. The reality is simple: none of those ambitions happen
if nearly a million young people are disconnected from work, training and
opportunity.
The Sun on Sunday’s Build
A Better Britain campaign deserves credit
for bringing the conversation into the mainstream and, importantly, for
highlighting real people and businesses already trying to make a difference on
the ground including the work being done through trades, apprenticeships and companies
like East Midlands Masonry.
But there is also a fair
question to ask.
Are we listening enough to the
people actually dealing with this every day?
Marc Bolland is undoubtedly an
accomplished businessman. He has led some of Britain’s biggest companies and
his charity work through Movement to Work is well respected. Lord Austin is
passionate about the issue and has rightly challenged the country to take youth
unemployment seriously. Nobody can question the intent.
The question is whether
Whitehall risks looking at this problem from too high up the ladder.
Because when you’re on building
sites, in colleges, speaking to small builders, subcontractors, housing
providers and employers, the frustrations are remarkably similar.
Young people are often willing.
Employers are often willing.
The system in the middle is what
seems broken.
The Government-backed review led
by Alan Milburn estimates the NEET crisis is costing Britain around £125
billion every year. That figure includes lost
economic output, lost tax revenues, welfare spending and wider social
costs.
To put that into perspective,
the report itself shows around £25 is spent on
benefits for every £1 spent helping young people into employment support.
That should stop the country in
its tracks.
Nobody is suggesting young
people should be abandoned or benefits removed. Some have genuine health
issues, difficult backgrounds and significant barriers to work.
But surely part of the
conversation has to be this:
Why are we spending billions
managing unemployment instead of investing more aggressively in employment?
Why aren’t more wage subsidy
schemes being offered to SMEs?
Why isn’t more Apprenticeship
Levy money reaching smaller employers who actually train people?
Why do so many businesses tell
me they would take on apprentices tomorrow if the process was simpler and the
support more practical?
Construction alone is crying out
for people.
We need bricklayers.
Groundworkers.
Joiners.
Electricians.
Roofers.
Plasterers.
Plant operators.
Site supervisors.
The list goes on.
Yet we continue hearing that
labour shortages are forcing companies to recruit overseas while, at the same
time, more than a million young Britons are not in education, employment or
training.
Something doesn’t quite add up.
The answer is not blaming young
people.
In fact, one of the most
important findings from the Milburn review is that the overwhelming majority of
NEET young people actually want work, training or opportunity.
Many apply for dozens of jobs
and hear nothing back. Many have never been given a first chance.
That is why this debate matters.
Not because we need another
report.
Not because we need another
headline.
But because behind every
statistic is a young person who could become a tradesperson, entrepreneur,
engineer, site manager, business owner or employer.
The Sun deserves recognition for
helping keep this issue in the spotlight.
The challenge now is making sure
the voices around the table include not only politicians, peers and corporate
leaders, but also small businesses, training providers, site managers,
tradespeople and employers who are trying to create opportunities every single
day.
Because if Britain is serious
about building a better future, we cannot afford to leave a generation sitting
on the sidelines. The cost is already too high.
This is where the numbers get
really interesting.
The £125 billion figure isn’t
all benefit payments. It’s the estimated total economic cost of NEETs to the UK
economy. That includes:
- Welfare
payments
- Lost tax
revenues
- Lost
productivity
- NHS costs
- Social
care costs
- Criminal
justice costs
- Wider
economic impacts
So you couldn’t simply take £125
billion from a bank account and spend it on wages.
However, let’s play with the
numbers.
If there are 1 million young
people and you divided £125 billion by them:
£125,000 per young person per
year
That’s an astonishing figure.
Now compare that with actual
employment costs.
A young person earning:
- £20,000
salary costs an employer roughly £22,000-£24,000 after NI and pension.
- £25,000
salary costs roughly £28,000-£30,000.
- £30,000
salary costs roughly £34,000-£36,000.
Therefore:
£125 billion could theoretically
fund:
- Around
5.6 million jobs at £22,000 per year
- Around
4.1 million jobs at £30,000 per year
In other words, on paper, the
economic cost of NEETs is vastly greater than the cost of employing every one
of those million young people.
Looking at it another way:
If Government offered employers
a wage subsidy of £10,000 per year for every NEET they recruited:
1,000,000 youngsters × £10,000 =
£10 billion
If they offered £15,000 per
year:
1,000,000 youngsters × £15,000 =
£15 billion
If they offered £20,000 per
year:
1,000,000 youngsters × £20,000 =
£20 billion
Even the most generous of those
figures is nowhere near £125 billion.
Of course, life isn’t that
simple.
Not every NEET is immediately
work-ready.
Some need:
- Mental
health support
- Basic
literacy and numeracy support
- Transport
assistance
- Work
experience
- Addiction
support
- Confidence
building
But this is the argument many
employers make:
“We don’t need another report.
Give us some help with the risk and cost of taking someone on.”
Imagine a small builder taking
on a 17-year-old apprentice.
Government pays:
- Training
costs
- CSCS card
- PPE
- Tools
- Travel
- A wage
contribution
Suddenly that apprentice becomes
affordable.
For construction specifically, a
£5-10 billion national employment and apprenticeship programme would be
transformative.
The real question isn’t whether
Britain can afford to invest in young people.
It’s whether Britain can afford
not to.
If a young person spends 30 or
40 years in work instead of on the margins of society, the return to the
Treasury through tax, National Insurance and economic activity is enormous.
That’s why The Sun’s campaign is
gaining traction. Many people look at the numbers and conclude that spending
money getting youngsters into work is almost certainly cheaper than paying the
long-term economic consequences of them not being there.
One thing I’d add from my
perspective … after 40 years on site and working with apprentices, I’ve seen
hundreds of young people who simply needed someone to give them their first
chance. Most didn’t need a government report. They needed a pair of boots, a
mentor, a wage packet and somebody who believed in them. That’s often where the
real solution starts.
