Work experience before the age of 16 could be the key to tackling youth unemployment, a new report has found.
According to the report from Education and Employers, young people who have strong employer engagement before turning 16 are far less likely to become NEET (not in education, employment, or training), with 80 per cent lower odds compared to those with less exposure.
The report, Work Experience: Past, Present and Future, is described as the most detailed analysis of global research on the impact of employer engagement and has been funded by the DHL UK Foundation.
It draws on three separate surveys of young adults, teachers, small employers, and 47 international OECD studies.
The findings show that early work experience not only reduces the risk of young people becoming NEET, but also improves the likelihood that they will have a clear plan after GCSEs, access their preferred training or study options, and find long-term value in what they do between ages 16 and 18.
However, the report reveals that access to high-quality placements often depends on family connections, highlighting major inequalities in the current system.
It found that 81 per cent of work placements are arranged by young people or their families, while 78 per cent of school staff believe that family connections are the biggest reason some young people access better opportunities than others.
Nick Chambers, CEO of Education and Employers, said: "The Government's ambition is absolutely right. But the evidence in this report and the surveys of young people, schools and employers suggest there is a real risk that without a proper infrastructure and funding this policy will simply advantage the advantaged, widening the social mobility gap further.
"If most work experience placements continue to be found mainly through family connections, the best opportunities will inevitably go to the most well-connected young people. Good work experience should not depend on who your parents know or where you happen to live.
"For more than 60 years, successive governments have tried to reinvent work experience, yet many of the same barriers remain.
"This report shows just how powerful meaningful employer engagement can be in reducing the risk of young people becoming NEET. Government needs to lead this from the top.
"If Government is serious about tackling the country’s NEET crisis, it must bring together the leaders of education and employer organisations to create a structured system that gives every young person access to high-quality experiences of the world of work, regardless of their background."
Barriers to work experience include geographic isolation, economic disadvantage, travel costs, limited employer capacity, and a lack of resources in schools.
Currently, only 58 per cent of Key Stage 4 pupils complete any form of work experience.
Nearly all teachers surveyed (94 per cent) said job shadowing is difficult or very difficult to arrange, while 81 per cent said workplace visits are similarly challenging.
While employers are generally willing to engage with schools, many cite resource constraints, bureaucracy, and competing demands as barriers.
Schools also struggle with a shortage of high-quality placements, competition from other schools, rising travel costs, and the challenge of releasing staff to support placements.
The Government has recently introduced a requirement for all students under 16 to complete 10 days of work experience, but teachers are concerned about how realistic this is without additional support.
The report notes that only 22 per cent of Government departments mention work experience opportunities on their websites, and key departments such as the Department for Education, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Cabinet Office do not appear to offer placements for under-16s.
The Rt Hon. Alan Milburn in his review Young People and Work said that having nearly one million young people being NEET was a crisis and risked a ‘lost generation’.
The Education and Employers report adds new evidence that work experience before age 16 could be critical in addressing this crisis.
