Event Summary

Alan Milburn’s interim Young People and Work Review highlights the scale of the challenge facing young people today. Nearly one million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training (NEET), with increasing numbers experiencing poor mental health, long-term economic inactivity and weak connections to the labour market. The transition from education into work is no longer working as it should. Apprenticeship starts for young people are down by more than 40%, while disabled young people remain more than three times as likely to be NEET as their non-disabled peers.

Join Westminster Insight’s biannual NEETs Conference, coming to Manchester in December, to examine the final recommendations of the Young People and Work Review, due this autumn, and to explore what they will mean for the future of education, skills, health, and employment.

Bringing together leaders from central, local and regional government, education and skills providers, employers, health services and the VCSE sector, the timely conference will explore new government priorities and the need for coordinated action across education, skills, employment, health and welfare to rebuild effective pathways into work.

You will gain insight into the future of employment support and the practical interventions needed to address the systemic barriers identified in the Milburn Review, including poor mental health, growing health and wellbeing challenges, fragmented local services and welfare systems, and a shrinking supply of entry-level jobs.

Education should prepare young people for work. We will examine how schools, colleges and Jobcentres can move beyond measuring attainment to focusing on meaningful destinations and sustained employment outcomes. You will hear about the government’s emerging Right to Try reforms and discuss how welfare spending can better support participation. You will also hear how to rebuild pathways into work through apprenticeships, employer partnerships, work experience, careers advice, and technical and vocational qualifications.

Gain the latest updates on incentives for employers to recruit and retain young people, and hear practical lessons from successful employer-led initiatives and SMEs.

Young people’s opportunities are heavily influenced by where they live. We will explore the role of devolved employment support, mayoral combined authorities, coastal and rural economies, and how greater local flexibility over funding, commissioning and data can help tailor services to local need. Hear how Greater Manchester’s employer pledge model and other innovative local partnerships are improving outcomes for young people.

Sharing examples of new national initiatives, innovative local programmes and successful employer partnerships, the conference will showcase how effective practice can be shared and scaled. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from the policymakers shaping the national response, benchmark your own organisation’s approach against leading practice, and leave with practical ideas for turning the Milburn Review’s recommendations into meaningful delivery on the ground.

Key Points

  • Final recommendations from the Milburn Review: implications for policy and practice
  • Preventing young people from becoming NEET through early intervention
  • Mental health, wellbeing and participation in education and work
  • Building stronger pathways into employment through careers, apprenticeships and technical education
  • Measuring participation, destinations, and sustained employment outcomes
  • Devolution, place-based partnerships and tackling regional inequalities
  • Improving opportunities for disadvantaged young people, including disabled young people, care leavers, and young carers
  • Data sharing and collaboration between education and employment partners

Sponsorship

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Group discounts

Contact us for group rates.