STATEMENT: Groundwork’s response to the Alan Milburn interim review into young people and work
Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, shares his response to the publication of the Alan Milburn interim review into young people and work. Also hear from members of Groundwork UK’s Youth Advisory Board.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork UK’s Chief Executive said:
“We welcome the publication of Alan Milburn’s interim review into young people and work. With more than a million young people now considered NEET – 13.5% of young people across the UK – this feels like a genuinely important moment in the conversation about youth employment, opportunity and the systems around young people more broadly. Much of what comes through in the report reflects our own experience: lack of entry-level opportunities, fragmented support systems, hidden barriers to participation and growing anxiety among young people about their future prospects.
“The imperative now is to build on the well-evidenced diagnosis of a worsening challenge, and identify how we move from a patchwork of provision to a coordinated, long-term effort to rebuild the pathways, support systems and opportunities that help young people move confidently into adulthood. We also need to match this improvement in support with the broader shifts underway in the labour market, in particular the drive to create more jobs in the green economy. Employers in the energy, waste and nature sectors report significant skills shortages while young people who want to contribute say they’re not aware of opportunities or feel locked out. Plugging these perception gaps and providing supported routeways into good green jobs with real prospects has got to be a priority.”
Mia Clement, a Groundwork Youth Advisory Board member said:
“We talk about young people as the future — yet we can’t even access the present
“As a member of Groundwork’s Youth Advisory Board — and as someone working in youth engagement and environmental communications — I spend a lot of time talking about the future. Climate action, green skills, nature-based solutions. The kinds of careers that are meant to define the next generation. But the reality for many young people is much more complicated.
“The Milburn Report’s finding that over one million young people are not in education, employment or training doesn’t surprise me. It reflects what I see, hear and experience every day: young people who are motivated, passionate, and ready to contribute — but who are locked out of the very systems meant to support them.
“This is especially true in the green sector.
“We often hear that green jobs are the answer — and they can be. But right now, too many of these opportunities in the sector are inaccessible. Entry-level roles ask for experience in sectors young people have never had the chance to enter. Internships and volunteering — often framed as “stepping stones” — are unpaid or underpaid, effectively excluding anyone who can’t afford to work for free.
“Young people who care deeply about climate and nature, who want to be part of solutions, but who feel shut out before they even begin. Not because they lack ambition — but because the pathway isn’t built for them. Our system is not fit for purpose. And that should concern all of us. Immediately.
“Because if young people are the future and they are not being supported or provided the support they need, it risks reinforcing the very inequalities young people want to solve.
“The solutions are not abstract. Young people have been clear about what would make a difference: paid, supported entry routes; honest job descriptions; investment in youth services and trusted mentors; and pathways into sectors like environmental work that don’t rely on privilege or prior access.
“From my perspective, this is not just about fixing the employment system — it’s about rethinking who gets to participate in the future we are building and the system as a whole.
“Young people are not disengaged. They are navigating a system that too often excludes them — even in the sectors that claim to be forward-looking.
“If we want a truly sustainable future, we need to make sure young people can actually access it.”
Muskaan Kaur, a Groundwork Youth Advisory Board member said:
“What the Milburn Report captures so clearly is that the rise in NEET young people is not simply an economic issue, but a reflection of how unstable the transition into adulthood has become. Too many young people are being expected to build a future while lacking the security, guidance and opportunities that would make that future feel attainable in the first place. What begins as missed support can quickly become lost confidence, isolation and the feeling that society no longer has a place for you.
“What I find most difficult to digest regarding this report is the recognition that this crisis did not appear overnight. For years, young people have been expected to navigate adulthood with fewer safety nets, fewer trusted spaces and fewer reasons to feel hopeful about the future, while the systems meant to support them have become increasingly fragmented and difficult to access. At that point, disengagement stops being a personal failure and starts becoming a social one.”
Notes to editors
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk