- About us
- Our people
- Nicola Aylward
Nicola Aylward
Head of Learning for Young People
Take a look at Nicola’s work
10 September 2025
The Youth Guarantee and the benefits system
This report, commissioned by Youth Futures Foundation and delivered by Learning and Work Institute, sets out the challenges and opportunities in young people’s interactions with the benefits system.
27 May 2025
Transforming opportunity
We are pleased to share our vision for an ambitious Youth Guarantee so that fewer than 10% of young people are NEET, and no young person who is able to engage with work or training is NEET for more than a year.
4 April 2025
Young people who are not in education, employment, or training – what does the data tell us?
This briefing provides an overview of the scale of how many NEET young people there are in the UK, what the characteristics of NEET young people are, and the differences in opportunity between different areas of England.
18 November 2024
Unlocking potential
This research, commissioned by Generation and supported by JPMorganChase, sought to better understand how we can enable people from all backgrounds to develop skills to progress into digital and tech jobs.
24 September 2024
Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech on apprenticeships at Labour Party Conference
L&W’s chief executive Stephen Evans and head of learning for young people Nicola Aylward respond to the Prime Minister’s party conference speech on apprenticeships on 24 September 2024.
5 June 2023
We still care
Following the conclusion of Move On Up, a six-year housing pilot between Commonweal Housing and Quaker Social Action, this report warns that unpaid carers aged 16-25 face potential homelessness unless their housing needs are urgently met with policy.
20 October 2021
The impact of moving employability training online
L&W was commission by EY Foundation to evaluate review the impact of the move to online delivery on different groups of young people and provide feedback on ‘what works’ to inform future delivery.
30 March 2021
Facing the future – employment prospects for young people after Coronavirus
A new report released today from The Prince’s Trust and the Learning and Work Institute warns that young people will increasingly bear the brunt of the unemployment crisis, at a growing cost to the UK economy.
7 October 2020
Making sure Kickstart works
This briefing paper warns that a focus on creating as many Kickstart jobs as possible must not come at the expense of quality training support or potentially excluding young people that need the most help.
