Youth Employment Hubs should be at the centre of the government’s efforts to support young people into work
This week, the Chancellor delivered a significant Budget – raising public spending by £70 billion, funded by large tax rises and borrowing for investment.
Hidden away in the Budget documents was a sneak preview of one of the first major policy papers expected from the new government, the ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper. This is expected to set out policies designed to increase the UK’s employment rate: currently the employment rate remains below its pre-pandemic level, and the OBR is forecasting no improvement between now and the end of this Parliament. One in seven young people aged 18-24 are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Against that backdrop, the forthcoming White Paper takes on added significance. At the Budget the government announced that one of the new policy initiatives in the White Paper is going to be eight ‘Youth Guarantee Trailblazer’ areas to “test new ways of supporting young people into employment or training, by bringing together and enhancing existing programmes in partnership with local areas.” At Demos, we welcome the commitment to improve integration of existing initiatives – in particular, we believe it is vital that these ‘Trailblazers’ build on the success of existing Youth Employment Hubs.
Demos’s report published in July, Launch Pads: The future of Youth Employment Hubs, was the first to evaluate Youth Employment Hubs across the country. Forming one part of the DWP’s Youth Offer, Youth Employment Hubs are primarily designed to support young people aged 16-24, mainly those receiving Universal Credit, into education, employment or training. Our research found that Youth Employment Hub participants and staff value Hubs as being highly effective in supporting young people towards a better future, particularly in comparison to Jobcentres. A central driver of this success, they told us, is the relationship forged between a young person, their Youth Hub Work Coach and other co-located practitioners at the Hub.
Young people explained that they valued the compassion, empathy and respect that characterised Youth Hub support. Specifically, they valued coaches/advisers prioritising their ambitions and goals when supporting them into new opportunities. One former Youth Hub participant told us their coach supported them in their ambition to become a photographer through business training and networking opportunities. While this approach may take longer, it supports young people into more sustainable employment. This is why in our report we recommend lengthening the amount of time a young person can access Youth Hub support from 6 months to 12 months.
Youth Hub practitioners told us that they valued the trust they built with the young people they support. On the basis of this trust, they are able to offer support when young people face additional and complex personal obstacles such as housing or familial issues. The co-located model of Hubs that house employment and other types of support together facilitates this.
However, this relationship can be disrupted when staff contracts come to an end due to short-term funding. Youth Employment Hubs are currently funded by a mixture of sources drawn from DWP, local authorities and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), and when we spoke to managers, many of them were seriously worried about future funding. It is positive that the Budget announced an extension of UKSPF, albeit only for one year. We also hope that some of the additional investment in the eight ‘trailblazer’ areas will go into funding Youth Employment Hubs.
Hubs that do have greater and more secure funding are able to provide more specialist support. For example, one Youth Hub had a Neurodivergence Mentor that worked with neurodivergent participants. The mentor was able to train local employers in working with neurodivergent young people and supported the collaborative development of employment plans. We know that more young people are being diagnosed with autism, ADHD or other needs, so we hope to see the ‘Trailblazer’ areas test providing more specialised support to young people, building on the good examples which already exist.
Youth Employment Hubs show us that trusting relationships and empowered professionals can make a real difference. In DWP, a department known for its reliance on New Public Management-era methods of public service delivery, Youth Employment Hubs represent a significant step towards a new paradigm. We urge the new government to support this transition, empowering Hub managers and practitioners to use their experience and expertise in public service as we call for in our paper Liberated Public Services. The eight ‘Youth Guarantee Trailblazer’ areas represent an exciting opportunity to do just that.