How a borough in Merseyside is bucking the UK's youth unemployment trend

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. How a borough in Merseyside is bucking the UK's youth unemployment trend9 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleKate McGoughEducation reporterGetty Images Sixteen-year-old Chloe is certain that if she hadn't received early support, she would likely be one of the million young people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training today, also known by the acronym Neet. Chloe suffers from severe anxiety and left school when she was 14 to be educated at home in Sefton, Merseyside. But Chloe found that she was growing increasingly anxious about leaving the house and was unsure about her next steps.

"I was only doing my maths and English at home; I wasn't going out of the house or anything, I was just doing that. "She was then identified by her local council as needing early support to avoid becoming Neet. Before 2019, Sefton Council had only offered careers support to the over-16s, but seven years ago they decided to try something different and target under-16s who were most at risk of becoming Neet, with one-to-one support delivered through a charity called Career Connect.

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The aim was to build a trusted relationship between the young person and a careers adviser, who helps them stay engaged with learning and plan for their next steps. Chloe's careers adviser, Kate Timmins, met her at home, took her on open days at a local college and helped her secure a place on a vocational childcare course. She also gradually built up her confidence to be able to travel there independently.

Now Chloe is enjoying college life and is on her way to her dream career working in a nursery. "I wouldn't have been able to go to college now if I didn't have Kate's help," she says. "It was great because she knew everything and I didn't have to keep repeating myself and keep explaining how it was making me feel.

"Career ConnectKate Timmins, a careers adviser for charity Career Connect, has been offering guidance to under-16s in Sefton This personalised early intervention approach means Sefton is bucking the national trend in their Neets figures, particularly for younger ages. In the most recent stats for March this year, just 3. 8% of 16- to 17-year-olds in Sefton were Neet, a figure that has halved since they started the scheme in 2019.

A major review published this week by former Labour minister Alan Milburn has warned that Britain faces a "lost generation" without urgent action to help more than one million young people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not earning or learning. Milburn warned that young people were being failed by the whole system and too often put on "a path to a life not in work, but on benefits". But for many, the journey towards becoming Neet starts well before their 16th birthday.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.