Submitting evidence to the Young People and Work report
We welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to the Department for Work and Pensions call for evidence on their Young People and Work report. This report will seek to understand the drivers of the increase in numbers of young people who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), investigate the root causes of economic activity, and make recommendations for policy responses aimed at increasing opportunities for young people.
Introduction
Walton Charity is a charitable foundation based in Elmbridge, Surrey. Through our long-standing role supporting individual and families experiencing poverty, housing insecurity, and issues with educational attainment and health, we are well placed to respond to this consultation. Through our foodbank and community hub The Bridge, as well as our grant-making and policy research, we see first-hand how systemic barriers affect young people’s ability to engage in education, employment, and training.
To inform this response, Walton Charity spoke directly with two of our partner organisations: Citizens Advice Elmbridge West’s 16-24s Youth Service, and Rentstart’s 18-30 Wellbeing Support service, the latter of which supports young people across Surrey who are facing complex challenges and may be contemplating suicide or self-harm. Their insights highlight lived experience and the realities for young people navigating poverty, disrupted education, insecure housing, and family breakdown. These perspectives strongly align with what Walton Charity observes through our own services and community connections.
What is stopping more young people from participating in education, employment, or training?
Young people face a complex set of overlapping barriers to participation in education, employment or training. Our partner organisations were clear that a lack of motivation is not the issue. Almost all the young people whom they work with want to work and build a better future, but structural, financial, and social barriers prevent them from doing so.
One major barrier to education, employment, and training is a lack of awareness and accessible information. Many young people do not know which opportunities exist locally, particularly alternatives to academic routes, such as apprenticeships or paid training. This is reinforced by research Walton Charity commissioned from Survation in 2025, which found that 50% of 18-24-year-olds in Elmbridge would not know where to access help or advice if they were struggling financially, revealing that key information on a range of topics is not communicated effectively to young people.
Educational disadvantage also plays a significant role in being a barrier. Many young people have learning difficulties or neurodivergence such as ADHD and autism, often undiagnosed, and are not given the right support at the right time in school. As a result, they may leave education without qualifications or confidence, carrying labels such as “underachieving” or “not smart enough”. These experiences are deeply demoralising and can have long-term effects on self-belief and willingness to re-engage with traditional systems.
Poverty and financial pressure are also barriers. Walton Charity sees young people at our foodbank and community hub who are facing barriers to employment or are living in households under severe cost-of-living strain, including working families. Research Walton Charity commissioned from the New Economic Foundation (NEF) shows that 68% of people in poverty in Elmbridge live in working households, demonstrating that employment alone is not a guaranteed route out of poverty locally. We also know from our partner organisations that in some cases, young people leave education early to contribute to rent and bills. This means that some young people are being pushed prematurely into low-paid or unstable work, creating a cycle of in-work poverty, limiting their long-term prospects.
NEF research highlights that real wages for typical and low-paid workers have stagnated or declined over the last decade, as inflation has consistently outpaces pay growth. In addition, Survation research found that 52% of 18-24-year-olds in Elmbridge struggle to afford their energy bills, underlining the financial precarity facing young people even when in work.
On the other hand, the interaction between work and the benefits system can actively deter participation. Families containing young adults who access our services often tell us that taking on work would result in reduced benefit entitlement, leaving them financially worse off. This creates a fear of risk, particularly for young people considering entry-level or part-time roles. Additionally, when the rules around benefit entitlement are unclear, young people may disengage from work completely. Reducing the risk of entitlements being withdrawn, as well as increasing wages and making employment rights clear would remove a major structural barrier.
In cases of in-work poverty and benefit restrictions, work is not an appealing prospect nor a guaranteed route out of poverty.
Stigma and low expectations further enforce these barriers. Young people can experience stigma from employers who may assume they are unreliable or disengaged. Some come from families where long-term reliance on benefits has normalised low expectations, not because of a lack of aspiration, but because opportunities have historically felt unattainable. The significantly negative impact of social media can also intensify feelings or perceptions of stigma, failure, and inadequacy, increasing isolation and disengagement.
Finally, there are significant practical barrier, including the cost of courses, travel expenses, poor transport links and limited opportunities for those with no prior experience. Without sustained, personalised support in navigating these challenges, many young people fall through the gaps at critical transition points, preventing them entering education, employment or training.
What would make the biggest difference to support more young people to participate?
Early, individualised and sustained support makes the biggest difference. Young people are still at a stage where change is possible, but only is systems engage them in ways that are flexible, encouraging and engaging. Proactively promoting opportunities is also essential. Young people need clear, accessible information about what is available to them, particularly paid opportunities such as apprenticeships and entry-level roles that do not rely on traditional classroom learning. Paid opportunities and meaningful financial incentives are critical, particularly for young people experiencing poverty. Walton Charity advocates for employers to pay the Living Wage, as the high cost of living in the Elmbridge borough currently means that many young people are working but still struggling to afford the essentials.
Role models and lived experience also matter. Young people need to see realistic, local examples of success to believe that change is possible and to help them make goals. Additionally, designing services for young people that promote education, employment and training by gathering input from young people themselves is a key way of improving engagement. At national and regional levels, policies are often designed without input from those most affected, leading to low engagement and poor outcomes. At Walton Charity, and at our partner organisations, we emphasise the importance of involving people with lived experience in decision-making processes to create effective and engaging services.
“It’s about setting realistic goals because young people love to achieve. They love to start something and complete it. That sense of accomplishment is so important for young people. If they don’t have that, their sense of worth starts to deteriorate” - Cyrus, 18-30 Wellbeing Support Service Project Lead
Finally, greater investment in youth infrastructure and community spaces would be beneficial. At Walton Charity, we understand the importance of creating safe, welcoming spaces of peer-support that can help challenge intergenerational disadvantage and support young people’s long term participation in education, employment and training.
Written by Amy Dixon, Walton Charity’s Policy and Communications Officer
30 January 2026