Support for young people not in education, employment or training

Local authorities have responsibility for supporting 16-19 year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The Department, through the Young People’s Learning Agency, is making funding available for a record number of places in education and training in 2011/12 so that more young people have the opportunity to participate and to get the skills and qualifications that will help them to make a success of their lives. The formula used to allocate funding recognises the costs of recruiting disadvantaged learners.

The Department also provides funding for services through the new Early Intervention Grant. This enables local authorities to deliver a range of activities, including their statutory duty to encourage, enable and assist young people to participate in education or training, support for vulnerable young people, and early intervention with those at risk of disengagement. The grant will also support transitional arrangements to ensure that young people have access to impartial careers guidance in advance of the all-age careers service being fully operational.

The Department has piloted two initiatives, Activity Agreements and Entry to Learning, to test different approaches to re-engaging young people who are NEET. Both pilots have been thoroughly evaluated and the findings can be found on the DfE Research and Statistics Gateway. There is also a summary report which providers can use when developing local programmes to support young people who are NEET.

One of the priorities of the European Social Fund (ESF) is to support projects for young people who are NEET. A range of activities, funded through ESF, are now available and local authorities should have details of projects in their area.

Young people, or their parents, who have questions about what is on offer in their area can speak to their local authority Children’s Services to discuss options. The Connexions Direct website is also a helpful source of information.　

At national level, the Department for Education works closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). BIS has a key role in raising skills levels and reducing the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds who are NEET, while DWP leads on support to help unemployed 18- to 24-year-olds get back into work.