TO BE PUBLISHED September 2026
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This conference will consider next steps for youth employment and priorities for improving pathways to work.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to assess priorities for addressing systemic barriers across key themes, including access to valuable work experience, education and training pathways, social security, and the wider labour market.
Approaches to tackling root causes of economic inactivity among young people will also be explored, including health-related barriers to participation and challenges faced by disabled young people. It comes with Alan Milburn’s interim report of the ongoing Government-commissioned Young People and Work Report highlighting concerns around declining access to entry-level employment, apprenticeships and work experience. We expect discussion on practicalities for co-ordinated approaches across employment, skills, health and welfare services, with final recommendations expected this summer.
Looking at recent developments and emerging thinking on key issues across youth employment, delegates will discuss implications of policy and regulatory changes affecting routes into work, employer practice and employment support, including:
- employment reform: implications of the Employment Rights Act 2025 - recruitment and retention practices - workforce participation among young people
- health and work: recommendations from the Keep Britain Working Review - health-related barriers to employment - co-ordination of support services
- careers support: access to careers guidance - reducing barriers to opportunity - supporting informed progression choices
- service delivery: priorities for the new Jobs and Careers Service from October 2026 - support for employers and young people - local delivery considerations
- routes into work: Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper implementation - expansion of the Youth Guarantee and Youth Hubs - Foundation Apprenticeships and modular apprenticeship units
Addressing structural barriers to sustainable employment & training
Sessions in the agenda include discussion on recommendations from the Keep Britain Working Review’s assessment of the impact of mental health challenges on youth inactivity, with considerations for potential expansion of an Individual Placement and Support Service.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- mental health support: youth inactivity linked to mental health conditions - expansion of Individual Placement and Support - access to tailored assistance
- workplace health: day one Statutory Sick Pay rights - reasonable adjustments and Right to Request measures - implications for young workers
- early intervention: preventing labour market exit - identifying support needs earlier - sustaining participation in work and training
Employer practice, workforce standards & recruitment
Delegates will assess priorities for co-ordination and how responsibilities should be shared between employers, education and training providers, local authorities, health providers and employment services in delivery of tailored stay-in-work support.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- shared responsibilities: co-ordination across employers, education providers, health services and employment support - accountability for delivery - local partnership working
- employment rights: implications of day one rights and reforms to zero and low hours contracts - employer confidence - workforce planning considerations
- pay policy: extension of the National Living Wage to all adults by the end of this Parliament - recruitment impacts - implications for younger workers
- entry-level opportunities: availability of entry-level roles following the ban on unpaid internships - work experience provision - administrative and funding considerations
- skills alignment: balancing employer needs with youth skills development - sector requirements - progression into employment
- job quality: practical considerations for predictable hours, security, progression and fair treatment - expectations for employers - commissioning and enforcement approaches
Post-16 skills reform & routes into work
Delegates will consider how changes to youth employment and skills programmes can best support progression into work, alongside implications for employers, providers and local delivery partners.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- training models: shorter and more flexible programmes aligned with Industrial Strategy priorities - employer engagement - progression outcomes
- apprenticeship reform: implications for quality, completion and progression - employer participation - learner experience
- Youth Guarantee: practical delivery of expanded entitlements - local implementation arrangements - coordination between services
- Jobs Guarantee: requirements for providing paid work opportunities - employer participation - delivery capacity
- eligibility routes: referral arrangements and access criteria - consistency of provision - local flexibility
- youth participation: proposals in the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy - youth panels - incorporating young people's priorities into policy and delivery
Funding, incentives & accountability
Delegates will assess how recent funding reform and incentives are influencing employer participation in youth employment and training, alongside priorities for accountability and measuring success.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- employer incentives: full funding of apprenticeship training for eligible young people in smaller businesses - Apprenticeship Incentive arrangements - recruitment impacts
- Universal Credit support: funding for employers recruiting eligible young people - participation levels - practical delivery considerations
- levy reform: transition from the Apprenticeship Levy to the Growth and Skills Levy - implications for small firms - sectors with high entry-level demand
- sustainable funding: long-term support for youth services and local employment programmes - funding responsibilities - delivery stability
- accountability: roles of DWP, DfE, Skills England and local partners - oversight arrangements - performance monitoring
- measuring success: 2027 outcome benchmarks - care leavers, young people with SEND and those facing health-related barriers - assessment frameworks
Social mobility, careers guidance & vocational skills
Further sessions will discuss whether the integration of careers support across the new Jobs and Careers Service - in addition to local Youth Hubs and new online platform JobHelp - has been successful in streamlining access to information on jobs, skills and training.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- service integration: coordination between the Jobs and Careers Service, Youth Hubs and JobHelp - accessibility of information - user experience
- careers guidance: tailored support through further and higher education providers - partnership working with employers and local authorities - progression outcomes
- technical pathways: role of Technical Excellence Colleges - expansion of Sector-based Work Academy Programmes - access to employment opportunities - regional skills priorities
- vocational reform: introduction of V levels - addressing skills shortages - alignment with labour market demand
- regional needs: matching provision to local economic priorities - employer engagement - workforce development planning
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Business and Trade; Department for Education; Department for the Economy, NI; Skills England; Home Office; and the Welsh Government.
