Business leaders come together to give Chancellor solution for Autumn Budget to get NEETs working

Over a hundred of Britain’s senior business leaders – including figures from Toyota, JCB, and the Rigby Group – have united behind a stark warning to the Chancellor that without urgent action, we risk confining Britain’s young people to the scrapheap.

In a letter delivered today to Rachel Reeves, over 125 business leaders have highlighted the scandal that is the nearly million young people not currently in employment, education or training (NEET), and have given the Chancellor a solution to help tackle this in the Autumn Budget.

Christopher Nieper OBE, who jointly coordinated the letter alongside the Jobs Foundation, stated that:

“The cost of the NEETs crisis to the economy is unsustainable – not just in welfare payments, but in lost productivity, unfulfilled potential, and the long-term damage caused by early unemployment. Business wants to help tackle this.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, the percentage of young people who were NEET stood at 10.7 per cent. This subsequently skyrocketed to a peak of 13.2 per cent in Q4 2024, representing 987,000 young people not earning or learning.

The joint letter emphasises that businesses want to play their role in the national mission of getting young people into work but highlights the need for additional support for businesses to create more opportunities for young people. It urges the Government to introduce a form of Skills Tax Relief that would enable businesses to invest in training our youth.

Notable signatories to the letter include prominent sports promoter, Barry Hearn OBE, Chairman of JCB, Lord Anthony Bamford, Labour Peer and businessman, Lord Jon Mendelsohn, and Chairman of the Bristol Port Company, Sir David Ord.

The Government has recognised the need for action. Last week, the Chancellor told the House of Lords that supporting NEETs is where the “biggest crisis exists” and highlighted that “we know that if you are out of work early in your working life, you are going to earn less and be in work less”.

Similarly, the Prime Minister last week told MPs that the fact that “there are nearly a million young people out of work, not earning or learning, is a huge challenge for our country” and that “none of us should accept a system” like this.

Georgiana Bristol, CEO of the Jobs Foundation, stated that:

“We know that businesses are the best engine for providing that vital first step on the career ladder for young people. But businesses are facing too many additional costs, which is stopping them from fulfilling this vital role.”

Referenced by organisations including Make UK and the Learning and Work Commission, Skills Tax Relief would help firms cover the cost of spending on apprenticeships, vocational courses, and training schemes. Businesses say that this would help stimulate investment in skills development and boost social mobility.

Apprenticeships are widely acknowledged as vital to helping give young people the skills and experience to succeed in life, however figures show that since 2016, apprenticeships for under 25s have fallen by nearly 40 per cent – taking away crucial opportunities for young people and underscoring the need for action.

Research from the Centre for Social Justice finds that Skills Tax Relief could result in a net gain to the Treasury of more than £20bn over five years, primarily in welfare savings. This comes as the Government has struggled to control the welfare bill, with Labour MPs pressuring the Government into U-turning on £5bn of planned cuts to PIP payments.

Bristol added:

“We are not short of young people with ambition. We are short of clear routes into real work. A Skills Tax Relief could give business the tools to offer that hope.”