Big Issue founder Lord John Bird writes for The Mirror on the number of young people out of work and education ahead of the publication of a major report by Alan Milburn
Poverty is the elephant in the room when it comes to the NEET crisis. If the Milburn Review is truly to press “system reset” on government solutions, it must start by confronting this central fact.
Research published in the British Medical Journal in March estimated that more than half (52.9%) of NEET cases were directly attributable to growing up in poverty. Young people who had been exposed to both persistent poverty and poor parental mental health during childhood had five times greater odds of being NEET than those in low poverty and adversity.
Where is the recognition that the growing number of NEETs corresponds with the rising levels of child poverty we’ve seen under successive governments over the past two decades?
Since 2022, we’ve seen the number of 18 to 24-year-olds selling the Big Issue rise by more than 60%. Mounting cost-of-living pressures are colliding with declining employment opportunities to form the perfect storm for the youth of today.
Alan Milburn warns we risk a “lost generation” unless we act quickly. That term sanitises the problem. This crisis won’t get “lost”, or drift quietly out of view – it will become squarely centre-stage. We’re talking entrenched long-term unemployment, greater welfare dependency, and a generational mental health crisis. Poisoning the fabric of our society and draining our economy.
35 years ago, Big Issue was built to address a similar crisis, albeit in a different form: people wanting to work and earn, who were excluded from the opportunity to do so. So we know a thing or two about this.
A good place to start with Milburn’s “system reset” is at the job centre. For too long, we’ve been failed by a checkbox system distrusted by jobseekers and employers alike. Since 2022, Big Issue has been trying to show how this can be done differently, using our sustainable recruitment arm Big Issue Recruit to help people facing poverty, hardship, or barriers like disability or ill-health find work.
Unlike traditional recruitment agencies, Big Issue Recruit is free for candidates. Participants are paired with job coaches who help them build confidence, develop workplace skills and navigate applications and interviews. The service also works closely with employers, encouraging more inclusive hiring practices and helping businesses access a wider, often overlooked talent pool.
But ultimately, there is little point preparing young people for jobs that aren’t there. Government must urgently engage with business to work out what the economic opportunities of tomorrow look like. We need to build clever, innovative solutions that respond to the changing world around us.
As the market becomes more competitive, it will be those disadvantaged by poverty who lose out. If the Milburn Review is serious about a system reset, it must start by recognising poverty is not just an outcome of the NEET crisis – it is its driving force. Confronting that truth is not optional. The choice is whether we confront it now, or spend the next decade paying the economic and social price of ignoring it.