A new ‘Youth Guarantee’ scheme announced by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week fails to address the root causes of why young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET), according to a Newton Abbot charity.

The scheme will see young people who have been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning being offered a guaranteed, paid work placement.

The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.

Reeves said participants will receive support to take advantage of the opportunities that are available with the aim of transitioning them to regular employment.

However, while Newton Abbot-based Life Chance Trust welcomed the government moves to tackle long-term youth unemployment, it said more needs to be done to help young people stay engaged in education or employment before they fall through the cracks.

‘By the time a young person becomes NEET, the system has often already failed them,’ a Life Chance Trust spokesperson said.

The charity raised concerns that the punitive element of the scheme, where failure to take up a work placement could result in a loss of benefits, could unfairly impact those who are willing to work but are held back due to additional support needs.

‘Many of the young people we work with at Life Chance Trust are NEET because of unmet needs, trauma, or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), not because they are unwilling to work but they need more support to do so and flourish,’ the spokesperson explained.

‘If we truly want to “abolish long-term youth unemployment,” we must work both upstream and downstream. That means supporting schools, youth organisations, and communities to help young people stay engaged in education, training, or employment before they fall through the cracks,’ the spokesperson concluded.

Life Chance Trust is a Newton Abbot charity that supports 16-25 year olds who have had a difficult childhood or experienced trauma to transition to adulthood through one-to-one mentoring and life skills workshops.