The number of young people over 16 out of work and not in education remains above 750,000 annually in the UK. This worrying trend worsened during the pandemic, which hit young people first and hardest in the labour market.

This employment gap has an enduring negative effect on young lives, imposing higher costs on them, society and our economy.

Five leading charities – Impetus, Institute for Employment Studies, Prince’s Trust, Youth Employment UK and Youth Futures Foundation, later joined by the Learning and Work Institute – formed the Youth Employment Group to campaign relentlessly to ensure young people do not suffer the scarring effects witnessed after previous recessions.

With support from the Westminster Foundation to grow their core activities, Impetus brought together over 200 organisations in subgroups to address the barriers faced by young people furthest from the labour market. These subgroups are informing national policy positions and commissioning new research to deepen understanding of young people’s persistent employment barriers. Their recommendations feature strongly in the influential report of the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee.