ILPC 2027

 The large number of young people who are defined as NEET (not in education, employment or training) and their increased propensity to churn between social and economic disengagement and any form of work, education and training continues to challenge policymakers to remedy the problem. A solid and consistent body of research evidence has demonstrated that periods of economic inactivity in early life leave a scarring effect on the individual’s education and employment prospects that persists over time. Within the UK, responsibility for the NEET agenda is complex as it rests with the UK government, as well as with each of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop and implement policy initiatives. It also cuts across a number of different agendas, including welfare and education, as well as employment and skills. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the age at which young people are defined as ‘NEET’ has progressively been extended. For example, within some EU funded programmes, eligibility includes young people up until the age of 29. While there have been a number of studies which have segmented the NEET group in terms of young people’s propensity to re-engage with education, employment or training, the extended age categorisation of ‘NEEThood’ remains under-researched.

This paper will present evidence from case studies which are being developed in each of the four UK countries about approaches to, and effective implementation of, government initiatives to address the NEET agenda. It will:

• evaluate the extent to which it is a policy priority area;
• consider the level of synergy or co-production that exists between different government departments and administrations to identify common policy solutions;
• review the impact of a series of time-limited funded programmes on developing meaningful strategies;
• explore the anticipated effects of the withdrawal of EU funded initiatives on NEET policy, and
• examine the role of charities and voluntary sector funding on policy development and provision.  

The case study evidence is derived from a three-year project (2016-2019), which is being undertaken by the University of Oxford’s Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE), with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It forms part of a consortium project led by the University of Maastricht and funded from the Open Research Area (ORA) for the Social Sciences to undertake a comparative study of young people not in education, employment or training in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France.