In response to the NEET's report from Alan Milburn, to which I have already referred this morning, here and here, I invited my son, James, who now works with me on research and content creation, to write a post on this issue from the perspective of a young person who has found employment, but still knows how difficult doing so really is.
His post can be found on our Substack, here. The conclusion is:
The social contract is broken. There is a generation of young people entering university who, by the time they graduate in three years' time, could find there are no jobs to be found, however hard they try.
This is not an individual problem. This is a systemic crisis that must be addressed. Right now, this country risks having an entire generation of ambitious and driven young people with nowhere to go, with no future and no prospects, while only the most fortunate, well-networked and driven will land anything post-university. This will be detrimental to both the economy and to our politics.
Let's not pretend that this country just has a NEETs problem, then. The issue is much bigger than that. Almost all young people are struggling, and the insecurity is disabling.
What young people need is hope and investment. They need to believe that there will be a brighter future tomorrow than there is today. We have seen what despair leads to. It leads to desperation, and that leads to the acceptance of political extremism. This is a crisis that must be met, face on. If not, the future of this country will become ever bleaker, and from where I stand, it does not look too good right now.
That seems right to me.
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James is right.
Neo-liberalism was always a one trick pony, a one way street. It was not about creating markets or industry or jobs, careers etc. It was always about monetising factors of production and existence so that it could be whisked away as money to be effectively hoarded and monopolised by a few people who felt that they were better than everyone else.
This is why MMT is so important and resisted – because it breaks the spell that there is no money, that the power has shifted for good. The power is still there and just needs to be released. Somehow.
Beautifully put, Pilgrim. There are solutions, plenty of them. We just need politicians brave enough to implement them. It doesn’t even need particular bravery, just an absence of the cowardice shown by our current so-called leaders. Let’s hope the Greens deliver.
50% of 18yr olds going to University is madness. It used to be around 5% and as a consequence a University degree meant something. The courses as a whole were more rigorous and were taught at a much higher standard. What really is the value to an employer of a History or Politics graduate from Anglia Ruskin for example? (I could select many courses from poor institutions). Maths or science from Warwick or Imperial is a completely different beast and will be. alice’s by employers. So you can say the social contract is broken but the reality is young adults have been taken for a ride by the university system where the major beneficiaries have been the employees in the university system . Now young people need to weigh up the value of a degree against the expense and the alternative of getting a job or apprenticeship. I wouldn’t be surprised to see numbers have over time and many disappear as they should do.
50% of 18yr olds going to University is madness. It used to be around 5% and as a consequence a University degree meant something. The courses as a whole were more rigorous and were taught at a much higher standard. What really is the value to an employer of a History or Politics graduate from Anglia Ruskin for example? (I could select many courses from poor institutions). Maths or science from Warwick or Imperial is a completely different beast and will be valued by employers accordingly . So you can say the social contract is broken but the reality is young adults have been taken for a ride by the university system where the major beneficiaries have been the employees in the university system . Now young people need to weigh up the value of a degree against the expense and the alternative of getting a job or apprenticeship. I wouldn’t be surprised to see numbers have over time and many disappear as they should do.
You can get a great degree anywhere
And a shit one anywhere too
The student makes a big difference to outcomes
I know, and I very much doubt you do.
James is spot on. I’ve discussed this many times with my peers.
Compare the current situation with my own; I’m 71 now, but had a part time job in a supermarket for 3 years before leaving school after A levels. I was accepted for uni to do a 4 year thin sandwich course in Mechanical Engineering in ’73. That summer, I had interviews with 4 international companies and was accepted by Rolls Royce in their first intake after nationalisation. So, I was paid to work for them during holidays and during the terms I wasn’t at Uni. In addition, they gave me a bursary each term. Did I mention that the government also gave me a grant? Tuition fees? : what the hell are they?
The thing is, I was just a lad from a Durham pit village, and nothing special academically. My work situation wasn’t special either – everyone on my course either had a sponsor or was fixed up with one at Uni. We all had jobs on completion of our course. One thing operating at the time was the Engineering Industrial Training Board ( I believe there was a similar Construction ITB) and the government had input into this. Oh for a bit of joined-up thinking.
So much for small government, eh? They gave me free education, saved 35,000 jobs in Derby and gave me the start to working life I needed. What now? Young people have a right to feel aggrieved – they’ve been cut adrift. Little wonder I have an easy – and very personal – answer to anyone who asks me ‘What has socialism ever done for us?’
Thank you for sharing
Ironically, now more than ever a nation’s youth is needed. Transitioning the economy of the UK nations all over the world is the most urgent task.
The most urgent task is the reduction of energy intensity and economic self-sufficiency, particularly in food. Remarkably farming is a good occupation, but it’s a very skilled occupation. It takes a good number of years to develop the proficiency to farm well. Small scale multi crop farming can be as much as five times more productive per unit land as modern agriculture. This is because intercropping not only confers benefits to soil fertility, but makes better use of land than a single crop.
The challenge every community faces demands the utmost of human ingenuity, not devoted to large scale global supply chain chains, but to local economic security and prosperity. if you live comfortably off your immediate surroundings, you are by definition living within planetary boundaries
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2026-05-29/life-without-oil-the-strait-of-hormuz-crisis-is-a-warning-for-global-systems-under-strain/
A friend in social media says tonight that the Government or it’s paymasters actually want and encourage a generation of unemployed young people to put into service for their forthcoming war with Russia. It could just be a coincidence if course but the calls for National Service are bound to begin soon…
I diagree
There is no forthcomimg war with anyone
Ther claim is absurd
Whilst being a part of Kevin’s Golden Generation, that world, that country; no longer exists.
We live in a world where Government has failed in a catastrophic way.
Someone filled that void left by government to release an Ai Agent that anyone can download. This is perhaps the single most significant thing to happen this century IMHO.
Without Government doing what only Governments can do; others will.
This is not difficult.
Interesting & Productive Work is essential to the dignity & self respect of individuals.
I believe instead of processing young people we must allow them to be part of Learning Hubs which accommodate children’s rate of development & Socialization.
Children need to be Fed, given Homes and allowed to follow their interests & aptitudes. This isn’t pie in the sky.
At the moment we’ve got Generals talking about capping The Welfare Budget and raising Private Capital from investors to pay for Defense – Give me Strength!
Reflecting on Kevin’s contribution I can empathize deeply;
However we can have every hope & confidence now that the young are taking the reigns of Power.
As their Tide now turns to flood they will not remain in the shallows but fathom the Deep Waters of Societies Possibilities.
They will cast The Future in their own way and in order to meet their own needs. Work for them will be both Opportunity and Vocation.
Their values will triumph as The Old Order gives way. Just as James has given a future to this site (all things being equal) so Society is being renewed.
We have come long miles….they have long miles to go.
I do wonder what gets taught on a 3 year politics degree at a leading university nowadays. There are absolutely things in life which should not be determined by politics, who you fall in love with, what’s your favourite band, and what holiday destinations rock your boat being obvious starters.
Then there are things that should not be decided by centralised politics, what the local high street should look like, local speed limits (we have to disagree on this Richard) and what minimum wages should apply given the disparities in median wages and disabled claimants in different local authorities. Catchments of major rivers, some with major industries, some without, may want to work out their own environmental programmes.
Centralised politics should absolutely set a Carbon Tax if it can according to the only economics Nobel on the subject so far.
As I said I wonder what a three year politics degree does for a person when so much of life could function quite easily without being decided by politics.
I write this post as someone alarmed that the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and Great Britain thinks that the price of watching a sporting event on television should be decided by politics. The idea that politics should pervade simple pleasures is as invasive as knotweed imv.
You prove the price of political ignorance, not least because you could have answered your questions with ease but clearly chose not to do so. What does a degree teach to those engage with its? To think. You should try it.