Bringing young people's voices to the Milburn Review
Over the past few months, we've been closely involved with the Milburn Review into Young People and Work, the Government-commissioned investigation into the UK's youth unemployment crisis.
From hosting a focus group and roundtable at our Community Hub, to sharing young people's stories alongside Alan Milburn on the BBC, and submitting formal evidence to the review, we've worked to make sure the voices of the young people we support are heard at every stage. Here's a look at what we've been part of.
Youth engagement: focus group and employer roundtable
Young people from our community sat down with Shuab Gamote and Peter Hyman, researchers from the Milburn Review team, at our Community Hub for a candid conversation to understand the barriers they face and the support they need.
We then welcomed them back for a roundtable with young people and employers, to share their experiences and learn from each other. Their discussion spanned what work readiness really looks like, how recruitment processes can be made more human for young people, and what the government can do to incentivise employers to hire young people.
This has all fed into the Inside the Mind of a Young NEET report, co-authored by Peter and Shuab, which in turn fed into Alan Milburn's interim review. Based on direct testimony from over 400 young people across Britain, it argues that the country must stop blaming the one million young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) for a system that has let them down. The roundtable with GoodWork is covered in chapter 6 - you can read the full report here.
In the national conversation
Young people from the GoodWork programme shared their thoughts on the youth unemployment crisis on our recent visit to City Hall, as part of our partnership with the Mayor of London's Inclusive Talent Brokerage Programme.
Hannah, Mohammed, Jerzy, Muhammed and Aaisha talked about their experiences with job hunting, the challenges many young people face, and what the government needs to be aware of (watch here). The same visit saw our young people interviewed by Channel 4 News.
We then welcomed Alan Milburn at our Community Hub, where young people met with him. Both the young people and Alan were interviewed by Nick Robinson for the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, and by Laura Kuenssberg for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. The young people spoke movingly about applying for countless roles, hearing nothing back, and the psychological toll this takes.
We're so proud of the young people we work alongside for showing up and sharing their experiences on platforms like these.
Our submission to the review
Alongside these conversations, we submitted formal evidence to the Milburn Review, drawing on our work with young people who are NEET or underemployed, and our partnerships with employers across sectors.
Our submission set out the systemic and compounding barriers young people face - chief among them the collapse of entry-level roles. Administrative roles are down 56%, sales roles down 44%, and customer service roles down 59% since 2022, leaving young people competing for a shrinking pool of opportunities against more experienced, better-connected candidates. We also highlighted the rising mental health challenges affecting our participants, inadequate careers guidance in schools and colleges, and a hidden crisis of underemployment affecting participants who join us already working, but in insecure roles with no route to progression.
As Fay, one of our participants, put it:
"Despite many young people holding degrees, skills, and work experience, the job market often feels inaccessible, with endless requirements and barriers that can be difficult to overcome. For many of us, finding meaningful work is not just about ambition, but about access, opportunity, and support."
We called for structural solutions: protecting and prioritising the Growth and Skills Levy for youth employment, an end to unpaid internships, sustained multi-year investment in the youth employment sector, and a renewed focus on mentoring, networks and community. We were also clear that AI career support tools must never replace human intervention for NEET young people, who need more interaction with the world, not less.
Most importantly, we called for youth engagement to be embedded in policy development, because young people must be listened to and involved in decisions that affect them.
About GoodWork
GoodWork is a youth employment and social mobility charity, creating fairer employment opportunities for young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and working with employers to create a fairer world of work.
Want to know more? Get in touch at hello@goodwork.org.uk