Milburn Review: NEET crisis has been “years in the making”- action must start now to turn it around

• TUC says young people need good quality jobs – not scapegoating
• Union body criticises “cynical attempts” to blame long-standing problems on new workers’ rights laws  
• Milburn review clearly says: “the UK’s NEET crisis is much more long-term and deep-seated than any decisions taken in the last few years”
• TUC says minimum wage youth rates unfair and largely obsolete – and evidence shows successive governments have closed the gap between youth rates and adult rates with no impact on employment. 

Commenting on the Milburn Review published today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:  

“Over a million young people stuck out of work, education and training is a damning indictment of a decade of inaction. 

“Milburn confirms this crisis has been years in the making – not a product of changes in recent years. It has been created by a toxic mix of austerity, apprenticeship failure, exploding levels of insecure work and a stagnant economy blighted by stark regional inequalities.  

“But young people have been unfairly scapegoated by those offering lazy assumptions about a generation unwilling to work. If you really want to tackle the NEET crisis, you have to start by delivering pathways for young people into good quality jobs and apprenticeships. 

“The jobs guarantee is an important start – but ministers need to put the rocket boosters under it by expanding places and ending the 18 month wait. Proper funding for Further Education is also vital to ensure young people get the high-quality training they need. 

“Crucially, the government should ignore cynical attempts to blame new workers’ rights laws on a crisis that long predates them – and get on with delivering the Employment Rights Act and Make Work Pay reforms in full. No one – including young people – benefits from a race to the bottom on employment standards.” 

On the need to tackle insecure work, Paul said 

“Young people need good secure jobs with decent prospects, including notice of their shifts and sick pay when they’re ill.  

“But too often, they’re stuck in insecure, low-paid work which leaves them at greater risk of dropping out of the workforce due to ill-health.  

“Good quality, secure work allows people to move into work and progress, rather than cycling between insecure hours work and unemployment. It’s a common-sense part of the solution to this deep structural problem.” 

On the minimum wage, Paul said 

“Young people pay the same bills as everyone else and deserve a fair wage for their work.   

“Youth rates are not only unfair, but they’re also increasingly obsolete as most businesses hardly use them.  

“The independent experts at the Low Pay Commission have said employment for young people has done better where minimum wage coverage is highest – and shown that successive governments have closed the gap between the adult rate and youth rate with no negative impact on employment. 

“Cutting the minimum wage for young workers is not the way to get – or retain – them in the jobs market. “ 

On social security, Paul said:  

“Milburn is right to recognise there will always be disabled young people who are unable to work, and the social security system must support them – but currently there is no intervention for those who might be able to move towards employment or education with the right support in place. 

“Any reforms should focus on ensuring there are genuine opportunities to move into work or education and a support package for young people to move into them – not on unfairly reducing entitlements.”