The Missing Piece in Tackling Youth Inactivity: Why Trusted Relationships Lead to Opportunity
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We Keep Looking for Bigger Solutions. But Sometimes the Answer Is Simpler Than We Think.
Every few months, a new announcement promises to tackle youth unemployment or reduce the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
- New qualifications.
- New funding.
- New employment programmes.
- New financial incentives.
- New targets.
These policies matter, and many contain positive reforms. Expanding technical education, strengthening apprenticeships and investing in employment support are all steps in the right direction.
But after more than 27 years working alongside young people facing some of life’s toughest challenges, I’ve learned something that no policy announcement has yet fully addressed.
The biggest barrier isn’t always a lack of qualifications.
- It isn’t always a lack of jobs.
- It isn’t always a lack of ambition.
More often, it’s a lack of trusted relationships and meaningful opportunities.
That’s the missing piece.
Young People Are Not the Problem
Too often, we talk about “fixing” young people.
We ask how to improve attendance, increase motivation or make them more employable.
Those are the wrong starting points.
Instead, we should ask:
What happened before they disengaged?
Many young people have experienced years of instability before anyone labels them NEET.
They may have faced:
- Exclusion
- Bullying
- Trauma
- Care experience
- Poor mental health
- Poverty
- Homelessness
- Exploitation
- Repeated rejection
By the time they reach employment services, many have already lost trust in the adults and systems around them.
Young people don’t suddenly disengage at 16.
Disengagement is usually the result of years of unmet need.
Qualifications Matter — But They Are Not Enough
Education changes lives.
Qualifications open doors.
Technical skills are vital for the future economy.
But qualifications alone cannot:
- Build confidence.
- Replace belonging.
- Undo years of feeling invisible.
A certificate doesn’t tell a young person they matter.
People do.
Behind almost every successful young person is someone who believed in them before they believed in themselves.
Financial Incentives Can Help — But They Don’t Remove the Real Barriers
Supporting apprenticeships and helping families with costs is positive.
But financial incentives alone cannot overcome:
- Anxiety
- Unstable housing
- Loneliness
- Trauma
- Transport barriers
- Low confidence
- Caring responsibilities
- Digital exclusion
I’ve spoken to young people moving from temporary accommodation into their first flat who desperately want to work, yet fear losing financial support before they’re financially secure.
They’re caught in a system that expects independence before stability.
Money helps.
Relationships help people stay the course.
Employment Support Shouldn’t End When Someone Gets the Job
Too many programmes measure success on day one of employment.
We believe that’s where success begins.
Starting work brings new challenges:
- Understanding workplace culture
- Managing finances
- Building confidence
- Travelling independently
- Balancing work and life
Without ongoing support, young people often leave jobs they were capable of succeeding in.
Not because they lacked ability.
Because they lacked someone to turn to.
Opportunity Changes Everything
At Genuine Futures, we don’t begin by asking:
“What career do you want?”
We begin by asking:
“Tell us about yourself.”
We listen before we advise.
We build trust before expectations.
We discover strengths before discussing barriers.
Only then do we explore education, enterprise or employment.
When young people feel heard, they begin believing.
When they believe, they participate.
When they participate, opportunities become possible.
Communities Create Better Futures Together
No single organisation can solve youth inactivity.
- Schools cannot.
- Employers cannot.
- Local authorities cannot.
- Jobcentres cannot.
- Charities cannot.
Young people experience one connected life.
Support should feel connected too.
The strongest communities bring together education, employers, housing providers, health services, voluntary organisations and young people themselves around one shared goal: helping every young person thrive.
Prevention Is Better Than Crisis
Too often, we invest once a young person reaches crisis.
Imagine if we invested before that point.
Imagine every young person having:
- A trusted adult
- Somewhere they belong
- Practical work experience
- Employer connections
- Opportunities to develop skills
- Youth-led enterprise
- Support that continues beyond their first job
The social and economic return would be enormous.
Prevention is not simply compassionate.
It is one of the smartest investments we can make.
The Genuine Futures Model
Everything we do is built around one simple belief.
Relationships create opportunity. Opportunity changes lives.
Listen
Every young person deserves to be heard.
Build Trust
Relationships come before referrals.
Discover Strengths
Focus on potential, not labels.
Create Opportunities
- Enterprise
- Volunteering
- Work experience
- Education
- Employment
Walk Alongside
Support doesn’t stop when someone gets a job.
Build Belonging
Because lasting success happens when young people feel part of something bigger than themselves.
A Call to Action
Youth inactivity will not be solved by one organisation, one policy or one programme.
It will be solved when communities choose to work together.
- When employers open their doors.
- When schools embrace different pathways.
- When services collaborate instead of operating in isolation.
- When policymakers invest in prevention.
- When every young person has someone who believes in them.
At Genuine Futures, that’s the future we’re working towards every day.
If you share that vision, we’d love to work with you.
Together, we can bridge the gap to opportunity.
Because every young person deserves more than a qualification.
- They deserve hope.
- They deserve belonging.
- They deserve opportunity.
- They deserve a future they can believe in.