Hospitality Sector to Offer Up to 100,000 Placements for NEET Young People

Hospitality businesses—including restaurant chains Wagamama, Nando’s and Burger King, hotel chain Premier Inn, and pub groups Fuller’s and Mitchells & Butlers—will provide up to 100,000 short-term placements for 18- to 24-year-old individuals classified as “NEET” (not in employment, education or training). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is coordinating the effort alongside similar retailer programmes launched the previous month.

The Guardian

Former health secretary Alan Milburn is preparing a full review of Britain’s youth-unemployment crisis, warning that the NEET population could rise to 1.25 million within five years unless the government intervenes. The review is scheduled to be published after the autumn budget on 28 October. Ministers have signalled broader welfare reforms, including proposals to replace a disability benefit for under-25s with a multibillion-pound employment-support package. The initiative follows earlier DWP plans for retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Asda, Pets at Home and the John Lewis Partnership.

The Guardian

Chancellor John Healey indicated a willingness to curb the rising benefits bill, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for welfare cuts to fund higher defence spending.

The Guardian

• “Absence and exclusion are too often a path to disengagement, with increased risks of becoming Neet. Too many young people who fall out of education risk being permanently left on the sidelines of work and opportunity.” — Lucy Powell

The Guardian

Milburn’s forthcoming review, due after the 28 October budget, is expected to contain recommendations for a national apprenticeship readiness scheme and further overhaul of the benefits system. The hospitality placements will roll out over the next three years, with the DWP monitoring uptake and outcomes to inform any subsequent adjustments to youth-employment policy.

The Guardian