Helping young people make the transition from education into employment has become an increasingly important workforce issue.
The Government is currently increasing its focus on youth employment, with new initiatives designed to encourage businesses to create opportunities for young people who may otherwise struggle to enter the labour market.
For HR professionals, the issue raises an important question: how can employers create meaningful routes into work while also building the skills pipelines their organisations need for the future?
The Challenge Facing Young People
Starting a career can be difficult when employers want previous experience but young people have had limited opportunities to gain it.
This can create a cycle where candidates struggle to secure their first role because they lack experience, while being unable to gain experience because employers will not hire them.
Barriers can include:
- Limited work experience
- Lack of professional networks
- Recruitment processes focused heavily on previous employment
- Confidence
- Transport and location
- Health or wellbeing challenges
- Limited awareness of available career pathways
Employers cannot solve every challenge facing young people, but recruitment and development practices can either reduce or reinforce these barriers.
The New Youth Jobs Grant
From 30 June 2026, employers have been able to access a new Youth Jobs Grant.
Under the initiative, employers can receive £3,000 for hiring an eligible young person who has been out of work for six months.
The scheme forms part of the Government's wider Youth Guarantee and reflects a growing focus on creating stronger pathways between young people and employers.
For HR teams, initiatives such as this provide an opportunity to consider whether entry-level recruitment strategies could be expanded.
Rethinking Entry-Level Recruitment
Employers should also consider whether traditional recruitment processes unintentionally exclude young people.
An entry-level vacancy requiring several years of previous experience is an obvious example.
Organisations could instead assess:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Motivation
- Adaptability
- Digital capability
- Teamwork
- Willingness to learn
Skills-based assessments, work trials, structured interviews and realistic job previews can give employers a better understanding of a young person's potential.
Work Experience Can Build Future Talent
Work experience should also be considered as part of an organisation's wider talent strategy rather than simply a corporate social responsibility initiative.
High-quality placements can introduce young people to industries they may never previously have considered.
They can also help employers identify potential future apprentices, trainees and employees.
Effective work experience should provide meaningful exposure to the workplace rather than simply observational or administrative tasks.
Young people should leave with a clearer understanding of:
- The organisation
- Different career pathways
- Workplace expectations
- Their own strengths
- Skills they need to develop
Connecting Employers with Local Skills
The Government has also recently announced 39 Local Skills Improvement Plans across England, designed to help ensure local training better reflects the needs of employers.
This creates further opportunities for organisations to engage with education providers and help shape the skills available within their local workforce.
HR teams can contribute by identifying:
- Current skills shortages
- Roles that are difficult to recruit
- Emerging future skills
- Entry-level career opportunities
- Apprenticeship possibilities
- Training that would make candidates more employable
Greater collaboration between employers, education providers and local organisations could help reduce the disconnect between the skills people develop and the skills businesses actually need.
The Business Case for Investing in Young Talent
Creating opportunities for young people is not simply a social issue.
Organisations facing ageing workforces, succession challenges or skills shortages need sustainable pipelines of future talent.
Early-career programmes can allow businesses to develop employees around the organisation's own systems, values and future skills requirements.
They can also improve workforce diversity by creating alternative routes into careers that might otherwise depend heavily on previous experience or professional connections.
Looking Ahead
Youth employment is likely to remain an important issue for employers, policymakers and HR professionals.
Businesses do not need to lower standards to create opportunities for young people. Instead, they may need to reconsider how potential is identified and how people are supported during the earliest stages of their careers.
For HR teams, this means looking beyond the immediate vacancy.
Work experience, apprenticeships, entry-level recruitment, mentoring and skills-based hiring can all form part of a longer-term talent strategy.
Organisations willing to invest in emerging talent today may ultimately be developing the experienced workforce they need tomorrow.
References
• UK Government, Department for Work and Pensions (2026) Funding for businesses who give youngsters a chance as Government ramps up youth jobs drive. Published 29 June 2026.
• UK Government (2026) Young people and work: interim report. Published 28 May 2026 and updated 13 July 2026.
• Skills England (2026) Skills plans to train local people for local jobs. Published 10 July 2026.
• Office for National Statistics (2026) Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), UK: May 2026.