Far too many young people are neither earning nor learning and the numbers are rising, having a negative impact on their long-term career prospects and life chances.

The Government’s introduction of a Youth Guarantee in England is a good step in the right direction, but it will need a laser-like focus on delivery and greater investment to improve opportunities. Updating its flagship Youth Opportunity Index, Learning and Work Institute reveals that progress towards the Labour Government’s mission to “break down barriers to opportunity” still depends on where a young person lives. Talent is evenly distributed in our country, but opportunity isn’t. The Youth Guarantee needs to change this.

This Learning and Work Institute webinar explored the findings of our recent research and new data from our Youth Opportunity Index. It focused on how a Youth Guarantee can help the UK to reduce its NEET rate, and support young people to bridge the gap to education and employment. We will hear key insights from Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, one of the Government’s eight Youth Guarantee trailblazer areas. With other contributions from the Youth Futures Foundation and young people, we discussed how a Youth Guarantee can be successfully implemented.

Speakers:

  • Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, L&W
  • Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands
  • Sarah Yong, Director of Policy and External Affairs, Youth Futures Foundation
  • Zoya and Jayden, members of Youth Futures Foundation’s Future Voices Group

18 August 2026

Labour Market Briefing: August 2026

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

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18 August 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.

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18 August 2026

Labour market stats response, August 2026

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

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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.

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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.

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21 July 2026

Labour Market Briefing: July 2026

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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