This webinar will share findings from Learning and Work Institute’s evaluation of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) Youth Guarantee Trailblazer, offering insights into how local areas can identify, engage and support young people who are at risk of being left behind.

More than one million young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), representing the highest level in over a decade. Without the right support, many face lasting challenges in accessing good jobs and fulfilling their potential.

Recent research highlights the scale of the challenge: only one in four young people who are NEET are receiving support to find work, while around half are effectively ‘off the grid’ and not engaging with employment or support services. At the same time, the Milburn Review has shone a spotlight on the twin challenges of an increasingly difficult labour market alongside employment and skills systems that remain too fragmented to meet the needs of many young people.

In response, the Government has introduced a range of initiatives under the banner of the Youth Guarantee, including the Youth Jobs Grant and eight place-based Trailblazers designed to test new approaches to engaging and supporting young people and lead system change. With the first year of the Trailblazers complete and NEET rates continuing to rise, there is growing recognition that action is needed at greater scale and pace. Understanding what works in practice is crucial is meeting this challenge.

Register for the webinar below.

Join us to explore how local innovation can help turn national ambition into meaningful opportunities for young people, and what action is needed to ensure every young person can access education, training or work. Drawing on evidence from the evaluation, speakers will discuss the successes, challenges and lessons emerging from the Trailblazer, including the role of partnership working, targeted outreach, and coordinated support. The session will also consider what the findings mean for the future development of the Youth Guarantee and wider efforts to improve outcomes for young people across the country.

This webinar will be of interest to policymakers, combined authorities, local authorities, education and training providers, employers, youth and community organisations, and anyone involved in improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.

12 August 2026

Small employers, big opportunities: apprenticeships for young people

Olly Newton, Executive Director at Edge Foundation, reflects on key messages from the Edge Foundation-sponsored workshop at Learning and Work Institute’s Employment and Skills Convention, exploring how small employers and local partners can support more young people into apprenticeships.

Read more

11 August 2026

Delivering local work and health programmes: Top tips

Developed as part of the Labour Market Evidence Programme, these top tips share practical lessons on designing, delivering and evaluating local work and health programmes.

Read more

21 July 2026

Labour Market Briefing: July 2026

Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 21 July 2026.

Read more

21 July 2026

Labour market dashboard

Every month, Learning and Work Institute produces detailed and timely analysis of the latest labour market statistics from ONS. Explore our interactive charts.

Read more

21 July 2026

Labour market stats response, July 2026

L&W’s chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.

Read more

10 July 2026

Building trust before jobs: supporting NEET young people in East Finchley 

Andrew Potter, Project Manager of the JobsPlus pilot in East Finchley, outlines a different approach to supporting young people into employment and training.

Read more

29 June 2026

What enables the effective design, delivery and evaluation of local work and health programmes?

This report presents findings from an evidence review on what enables the effective design, delivery and evaluation of local health and work programmes.

Read more

29 June 2026

Scoping report: Labour Market Evidence Programme

This scoping report as part of the Labour Market Evidence programme provides a summary of the work undertaken by IES and L&W between October 2025 and March 2026 including user consultation. It summarises the evidence needs of local policy makers and sets out how these needs can be addressed.

Read more

18 June 2026

Labour Market Briefing: June 2026

Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 18 June 2026.

Read more