
Why does the Youth Employment Group exist?
The Youth Employment Group (YEG) exists to ensure that there is a quality employment, education or training pathway for all young people, in particular the most marginalised.
Why was the YEG set up?
In 2020, in response to the crisis and its impact on young people, Impetus, Youth Futures Foundation, Youth Employment UK, the Institute for Employment Studies, the Learning & Work Institute and The Prince’s Trust formed the Youth Employment Group (YEG) to bring together the youth employment sector to help drive the UK’s response. Now with over 300 member organisations, our coalition advocates for full and inclusive employment for young people.
What does the YEG do?
It brings together the UK’s largest coalition of youth employment experts and the latest evidence and insight, with young people who have faced or are facing barriers to employment. Together they:
- Set the agenda by raising the profile of labour market issues facing young people
- Provide tools with practical guidance on issues and how to tackle them
- Drive change in policy and activity by working with employers, local and national governments, civic society and young people.
How will this be achieved?
The YEG advocates for urgent action across the UK to:
- Tackle the systemic issues that mean hundreds of thousands of young people are left out of employment and education, permanently damaging their long-term health and wealth
- Protect young people during periods of economic uncertainty and labour market decline
- Improve the quality and accessibility of support for all young people so that they can secure and progress in employment, education and training.
How are young people involved?
We are committed to embedding the views and experiences of young people and the challenges they are facing through the Youth Voice Forum, chaired by young people. It meets monthly on a range of topics, providing a space for them to engage in the YEG and share their experiences, challenges, ideas and solutions.
What do the YEG subgroups focus on?
Through a partnership with the Westminster Foundation, the YEG supports subgroups that focus on the causes and solutions of issues facing different groups of young people, and the support they need. These subgroups focus on:
Disability
Youth justice
Apprenticeships
Self-employment
Employers
Quality of work
Ethnic disparities
As Co-Chair of the YEG Ethnic Disparities subgroup, I want to uncover what influences the employment prospects of young people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds. Currently, we are identifying how evidence is informing policy and practice in this area, as well as pinpointing gaps in knowledge. Our aim is to support more young people into high-quality education, training or employment by developing evidence-based recommendations.
Kahiye Alim, Director, Council of Somali Organisations
How do I join?
If your organisation would like to join the Youth Employment Group to share your practices, insights and/or research, please complete our member enquiry form.
Established in April 2020, the YEG has been advocating for full and inclusive employment for young people
- January 2023: Research from the IFS found that the generation who entered the labour market during the pandemic have largely bucked the trend of previous recessions, where those individuals suffer lasting damage to their prospects | Are the kids alright? The early careers of education leavers since the COVID-19 pandemic, The Institute for Fiscal Studies
- November 2022: The YEG Ethnic Disparities sub-group is launched at the House of Lords. The results of a survey of 2,200 ethnic minority young people are released. Minister Mims Davies announces her new role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression following YEG calls for greater cross-government accountability and collaboration to tackle youth unemployment | Launch of ethnic disparities research at landmark event, Youth Futures Foundation
- July 2022: The Ethnic Disparities sub-group commissioned Savanta ComRes to carry out a rapid youth voice survey of young people from ethnic minority backgrounds experiences of navigating the labour market.
- March 2022: The Ethnic Disparities sub-group commissioned the Learning & Work Institute to carry out a data analysis project looking at gaps in the data for young minority ethnic groups.
- November 2021: The YEG's recommendations largely adopted in the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee's Skills for Every Young Person report | Skills for every young person, House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee (pdf, 3.9mb)
- August 2021: The YEG called on the Prime Minister to deliver an Opportunity Guarantee for young people | Call covered in the Mirror
- July 2021: The YEG launched a new paper at the APPG for Youth Employment, providing a framework for the Government to deliver on its Opportunity Guarantee | Levelling Up for Young People: Building an Opportunity Guarantee (pdf, 2mb)
- January and February 2021: The YEG called for an extension to Kickstart, the government’s flagship youth employment COVID-19 programme, publishing a paper on the Five reasons to extend ‘Kickstart’ | Call covered by the Independent
- September 2020: The YEG launched their recommendations paper Securing a place for young people in the nation’s economic recovery, calling for government to support the creation of 1,000 extra opportunities per day for young people | Call covered by Channel 4 News
- June 2020: The YEG called for an Opportunity Guarantee for young people | Call published in The Times
- April 2020: The Youth Employment Group launched | Covered by the Independent
- December 2019: Several youth employment organisations convene at The Prince’s Trust to discuss what realistic targets could we set governments to reduce youth unemployment, with the aim of developing a consensus position.
Member organisations
- 1625 Independent People
- 2-3 Degrees
- The 5% Club
- Access Generation
- Access Training East Midlands
- Adur and Worthing Councils
- Aldridge Foundation
- Ambitious about Autism
- A New Direction
- Anti-Tribalism Movement
- Any Good?
- AccessEd
- AGCAS
- Amazing Apprenticeships
- The Apex Project
- Apprenticeship College
- Apps for Good
- ASDAN
- Association of Colleges
- Association of Muslim Schools UK
- Atoma Union
- Autovista Group
- AV4U
- AYM
- AYM Media Group
- Baltic Apprenticeships
- Base UK
- BBC Children in Need
- The Blagrave Trust
- Blinkbright
- Blue Prism
- Bournemouth University
- Bradford Youth Development Partnership
- Braintree District Council
- Bright Blue
- Brightside
- Brighton and Hove City Council
- Building Pathways
- Business in the Community
- Care Leaver Covenant
- Career Connect
- Career Development Institute
- Career Ready
- Careers England
- Carers Trust
- Catch22
- Caudwell Children
- Central London Forward
- Centre for Cities
- The Centre for Education and Youth
- Centre for International Learning and Leadership
- The Centre for Youth Impact
- Chartered Management Institute
- Chimera Consulting
- Circle Community
- City & Guilds Foundation
- City Gateway
- Clarion Futures
- Clearview Research
- Coach Core Foundation
- Commercial Education Trust
- Communities that Work
- Construction Youth Trust
- Conwy County Borough Council
- Council of Somali Organisations
- Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership
- CPJ Group Ltd
- The Crewing Company
- Cricket Green School
- Cummins Mellor
- Curious Minds
- Dalberg
- Dallaglio RugbyWorks
- Demos
- DFN Foundation
- The Diana Award
- Digital Grads
- Disability Rights UK
- Divine Days Collective
- DMH Associates
- Drive Forward Foundation
- Ealing Council
- East Sussex County Council
- The Edge Foundation
- EDSK
- EFL Trust
- Elimu
- Emsi
- ENGIE
- EngineeringUK
- Envision
- ERSA
- EY Foundation
- FEDCAP Employment
- Federation of Small Businesses
- Feeding Britain
- Firmin Consultancy
- First Class Legacy
- First Rung
- Fledglink
- For Housing
- Friends, Families and Travellers
- Future Frontiers
- Generation
- Generation Medics
- GMCVO
- Good Help
- Gosad
- Grand Union Housing Group
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Groundwork UK
- Half-Full
- HAYN
- Hartlepool Borough Council
- Hatch Enterprise
- Health Education England
- The Heart of the City
- Hounslow's Promise
- I Have A Voice CIC
- Impetus
- Institute for Employment Studies
- Institute for Public Policy Research
- Institute of Employability Professionals
- Institute of Student Employers
- Intertrain
- IVE
- Jon Egging Trust
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Just for Kids Law
- Kelly Services
- Kidderminster College
- King’s College London
- Lancashire BME Network
- The Land Collective
- Launch It
- Learning and Skills Academy CIC
- Learning and Work Institute
- Leonard Cheshire
- Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
- London Borough of Hounslow
- London Councils
- London First
- London Progression Collaboration
- London Youth
- Maximus UK
- Mayor’s Fund for London
- Mersey Youth Support Trust
- Merseyside Community Training
- Movement to Work
- Multiverse
- my AFK
- MyBigCareer
- MyKindaFuture
- My Need to Live
- Nacro
- National Centre for Universities and Business
- National Citizen Service Trust
- National Deaf Children's Society
- The National Literacy Trust
- The National Lottery Community Fund
- National Youth Agency
- NCFE
- Newcastle United Foundation
- North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- Ormiston Academies Trust
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Partnership for Young London
- Pathway CTM
- People Plus
- Policy Connect
- Policy in Practice
- Port Vale Foundation
- Power2
- Premier League Charitable Fund
- Preparing for Adulthood
- The Prince's Trust
- Pro Bono Economics
- Push
- Real Ideas
- Recruitment & Employment Confederation
- Reed in Partnership
- Resolution Foundation
- Resurgo
- Rocket Science
- Roundhouse
- The RSA
- Saffron Interactive
- Scope
- See It Be It
- Serve Legal
- Shaw Trust
- Sheffield Futures
- Shropshire Youth Support Trust
- Skills Builder Partnership
- The Skill Mill
- The Skills Network
- Slinger Staff
- SOAR Community
- Social Market Foundation
- Social Mobility Commission
- SOFEA
- Spark
- Speakers for Schools
- Sport 4 Life UK
- Springboard
- Springpod
- Stonewall
- Street Games
- Street League
- Stride
- Supplytrain CIC
- Talentino
- Talent RISE
- Techcentre Training
- TeenWorld CIC
- ThinkForward
- Thurrock Council
- Timewise Foundation
- Timpson
- Total People
- Tower Hamlets EBP
- Track
- Transform Lives Company
- The Traveller Movement
- TryTech
- UK Youth
- Ultra Education
- Unite to Ignite
- UnitedinDesign
- University of Bath Institute for Policy Research
- University of Derby
- University of Huddersfield
- Unloc
- UnLtd
- Venture Trust
- Virgin Media
- Virtual Internships
- The Vocational Academy
- Volunteer it Yourself
- Walcot Foundation
- Waltham International College
- Warwick Institute for Employment Research
- We Are Futures
- We Mind The Gap
- West Ham United Foundation
- West London Alliance
- West Midlands Combined Authority
- Westminster Foundation
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
- Windmills Foundation
- Wolverhampton Learning Platform CIC
- Working Chance
- WorkingOptions
- WorldSkills UK
- YHA
- YMCA
- Young Enterprise
- Young Epilepsy
- Young Women's Trust
- Your Homes Newcastle
- YouthBuild Ventures UK
- Youth Employment UK
- Youth Fed
- Youth Futures Foundation
- Youth Ink
- Youth Leads UK
- Zero Gravity