“NEET” is one of those terms the sector uses so often that it can begin to sound like a type of young person.
It is not.
It simply means that, at a particular point in time, someone is not in education, employment or training. It tells us where they are today. It does not tell us how they got there, what they are capable of or what might help them move forward.
The number of young people in this position is rising. The latest figures estimate that just over one million people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between January and March 2026. That was 13.5% of the age group and an increase of 89,000 compared with the same period the previous year. The Office for National Statistics advises some caution around short-term changes, but the overall scale of the problem is difficult to ignore.
For young people who have been in care, the situation is even more serious. In England, 40% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 were recorded as NEET in the year ending March 2025, compared with an estimated 15% of all young people in that age group.
That is why the government’s recent apprenticeship announcements matter.
What has been announced?
On 28 July 2026, the government announced a package intended to increase access to technical education, training and apprenticeships.
The measures include fully funded apprenticeship training for eligible people under 25 from August, financial support of up to £8,000 for some small and medium-sized employers taking on younger apprentices, and a proposed bursary worth up to £4,500 per year for certain households where the benefit system could otherwise make accepting an apprenticeship financially difficult. The government says the wider package is intended to help create 50,000 additional youth apprenticeships by the end of this Parliament.
Foundation apprenticeships are also being expanded. These are Level 2 employed positions that combine work with training and generally last for at least eight months.
They are open to young people aged 16 to 21. Care leavers, young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan, and some prison leavers can begin one up to the age of 24. The available sectors now include construction, digital, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care, hospitality and retail.
There is separate support for young people who have already spent time out of work. Under the Youth Jobs Grant, employers can receive £3,000 when they employ an eligible person aged 18 to 24 who has been claiming Universal Credit and looking for work for six months. A Jobs Guarantee is also being introduced for some young people who have been out of work for longer, offering six months of subsidised employment with additional support.
On paper, these are useful changes.
They create more entry points, reduce the cost for employers and recognise that some young people need a first step before they are ready for a longer or more specialised apprenticeship.
But a scheme does not translate itself into an outcome.
An opportunity can exist and still be unreachable
A young person may be interested in construction but have no CSCS card, suitable clothing or reliable way to reach an early-morning site.
They may want to work but have no passport, birth certificate, bank account or National Insurance details readily available.
They may have submitted applications in the past and heard nothing back. They may believe that another attempt will end in another rejection.
They may be dealing with anxiety, disrupted education, low confidence or uncertainty about where they will be living in six months.
They may simply have never had an adult sit beside them and break the process into manageable steps.
This is where children’s homes and supported accommodation providers can make the difference.
Our role is not to choose a career for a young person or push them into the first vacancy we find. It is to help them understand the options, make an informed choice and deal with the practical obstacles between being interested and being able to begin.
A national apprenticeship scheme may create the opening. The work inside the home is what can make that opening usable.
What should homes do now?
Start with the young person, not the vacancy
It is tempting to begin with a list of available courses and apprenticeships. A better starting point is the young person’s interests.
What kind of work can they imagine doing?
What are they already good at?
Would they prefer practical work, customer-facing work, digital work or something involving care and support?
What have they tried before, and what happened?
A young person is more likely to remain engaged with an opportunity that has some connection to their own interests and plans. The aim should not be to move them off a NEET list as quickly as possible. It should be to help them enter something they have a reasonable chance of sustaining.
Identify the actual barrier
“Lacks motivation” is rarely a useful assessment.
It describes what staff can see, but it does not explain what is preventing progress.
The real barrier might be fear of failure, poor previous experiences of education, low literacy, travel costs, unsuitable interview clothes, missing documents, disrupted sleep, mental health, uncertainty about housing or not understanding what an apprenticeship involves.
Each barrier requires a different response.
A general instruction to “apply for jobs” will not solve a practical problem with identification documents. A motivational conversation will not fix an unaffordable bus journey. Sending another college link will not help if the young person cannot complete the application independently.
Good support begins by identifying the obstacle accurately.
Treat applications as support work
Finding an opportunity is only one part of the process.
A young person may also need help to:
- obtain identification and National Insurance information;
- open or manage a bank account;
- write a CV;
- complete an online application;
- contact a training provider;
- prepare for an interview;
- plan the journey;
- understand wages and deductions;
- obtain suitable clothing or equipment;
- decide what information to share about their care experience;
- respond when an employer contacts them; and
- manage the first few weeks after they begin.
None of these actions is especially dramatic. Together, however, they can determine whether an opportunity is taken up or missed.
Check the care-leaver entitlements
The expanded age criteria for foundation apprenticeships are particularly important.
A care-experienced young person aged 22 to 24 may still qualify even though the standard age range ends at 21. Eligible care-experienced apprentices aged 16 to 24 may also qualify for a £3,000 bursary.
This is the sort of detail that can easily be overlooked when staff are relying on a general vacancy search.
Providers should make sure that the young person, their personal adviser and anyone supporting the application know what additional help may be available. The young person should not lose access to an opportunity simply because nobody checked the eligibility rules.
Build local relationships before they are urgently needed
Homes should know the colleges, training providers, careers services, Jobcentre teams and apprenticeship employers in their area.
This does not require a complicated employment programme.
It could begin with a simple local directory showing:
- who accepts direct referrals;
- which sectors they cover;
- their entry requirements;
- when programmes begin;
- whether travel support is available;
- who staff should contact;
- what support is available for care-experienced applicants; and
- what happens when a young person is not yet ready for the main programme.
The best time to build these relationships is before a young person reaches the point of crisis or disengagement.
Do not disappear once the placement begins
Starting an apprenticeship is progress, but it is not the end of the work.
The young person may need support to adjust to early mornings, workplace expectations, feedback from a supervisor, managing wages, travelling independently and balancing employment with the rest of their life.
A difficult first week should not automatically become another failed placement.
Staff should continue checking in, while respecting the young person’s growing independence. Where appropriate and agreed, the home can help the young person communicate with the employer or training provider before a manageable problem becomes a reason to leave.
Record movement, not activity
Providers also need to be honest about the quality of their recording.
“Staff discussed employment with the young person” tells us that a conversation took place. It does not tell us whether anything changed.
A useful record would show:
- what the young person said they wanted;
- the opportunities considered;
- the barriers identified;
- the support offered;
- what the young person agreed to do;
- what staff agreed to do;
- who owns the next action;
- when it should happen; and
- whether the plan worked.
For example:
Jay said he remains interested in plumbing but does not want to return to a classroom full-time. Staff explained the difference between a college course and an apprenticeship. With Jay’s agreement, staff identified two local plumbing apprenticeships. Jay does not currently have an updated CV and is unsure where his National Insurance letter is. Staff will support him to update his CV on Tuesday and contact his personal adviser regarding the missing document. Jay will review both vacancies before the next keywork session on Friday.
That record gives the next member of staff something to continue.
It also makes the young person’s voice visible. Most importantly, it shows whether support is moving towards an outcome rather than becoming a series of repeated conversations.
The measure is not how many links we send
The new apprenticeship measures are welcome because they increase the range of routes available to young people who may not want, or may not currently be ready for, a traditional academic path.
Foundation apprenticeships could be particularly valuable for young people who need a supported entry into employment rather than another sudden jump into an unfamiliar environment.
But we should be careful not to confuse the existence of a scheme with access to it.
The real measure is not how many links staff send, how many referrals are completed or how often “education and employment” appears in a support plan.
It is whether the young person understood the opportunity, received help with the barriers and was supported to stay engaged when things became difficult.
When a new policy is announced, the question for a home should be simple:
Which young person could this help, and what needs to happen next to make it real for them?
That is where national policy becomes day-to-day practice. And for a young person who has been waiting for a first step, that day-to-day work can change the direction of everything that follows.
