More than 1 million young people in the UK are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). This will rise further without urgent and effective intervention. The scale of this challenge requires new approaches, as the costs of young people being NEET have reached £125 billion a year, more than the country spends on education as a whole.
Shaping Our Future is an innovative, first-of-its-kind framework to turn the tide on the NEET crisis. Starting in Year 8, we work with students who are most at risk of disengaging and becoming NEET. We provide students with sustained employer-led careers education, workplace experiences and skills development throughout the rest of their time at school.
The programme involves leading employers and volunteers from sectors that have growing workforce needs. We co-design meaningful experiences that connect learning with real-world opportunities. Through workshops, workplace visits and employer encounters, students build confidence, develop employability skills and gain a clearer understanding of future career pathways.
Our initial pilot is with the Cockburn Multi Academy Trust in Leeds, working across its three secondary schools. Our common goal is to improve young people’s attendance and engagement with school, help them make informed choices about their future and reduce the likelihood of them becoming NEET.
Flexible and scalable, Shaping Our Future enables employers to support young people facing multiple disadvantages, including persistent absence, SEND and low-income backgrounds. Through long-term employer engagement and early intervention, we are helping young people stay connected to education, develop essential skills and build brighter futures.
Young people most at risk of becoming NEET, and employers who are interested in playing their part to solve a burning issue for society.
Our pilot programme is running for four years. We are actively looking for partners who can make a multi-year commitment to support expanding this programme.
Shaping our Future is a long-term partnership between a school (or schools) and multiple employers.
We look for schools and academy trusts that can commit to a multi-year programme and employers prepared to make a sustained commitment to supporting an at-risk cohort. This helps to create continuity in the programme, developing rapport, engagement and trust with young people. These longer term commitments drive real impact.
We are also seeking funders who are interested in supporting a pioneering framework that has already delivered early signs of success.
This programme is exactly the kind of proactive, real-world support that young people need, especially those who may not have access to professional networks or industry insight at home.
We’re proud to be part of a partnership that is not just observing the NEET crisis, but is actively doing something to change it.
Mubs Mahmed BEM, Social Value Manager at First Bus
OBJECTIVE
We risk losing a generation of young people to unemployment and low attainment. This in turn would have a disastrous impact on sectors, talent pipelines and the wider economy. We’re turning ambition into action, convening employers who recognise the severity of this issue and providing frameworks, activities and practical support for them to take action. At a time when young people face increased pressures from social media and a changing workplace due to AI, this programme builds confidence and unlocks potential so that young people enter the workforce ready to succeed.
Taking part in Shaping Our Future helps your organisation to:
This collaborative programme relies on the support and commitment of employers, volunteers, teachers and schools. Together we can build more coherent pathways from school into work and support young people to develop the skills and behaviours to thrive in their future careers.
More than one million young people are not in education employment or training (NEET). Preventing the risk of a lost generation takes partnership between the public and private sector. Read our most recent report with the built environment and real estate sector on the need to build a stronger early talent pipeline.
