Almost one million young people in the UK are not in employment, education or training (Neet), according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics
Less than half of young people supported by two government-backed youth schemes in London went on to take up further education, employment or training (Neet) opportunities, according to new data.
Only 1,100 of 2,600 young Londoners supported by the £20m Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme moved into further opportunities.
Former youth worker and Conservative peer Shaun Bailey said the scheme was a "failure" and called for more support for employers but Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said it was helping young people furthest from the labour market and that it was still "early days".
A major report by former minister Alan Milburn is expected to set out proposals for tackling the problem next week.
Almost one million young people in the UK are not in employment, education or training, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
London is one of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazer areas in England already exploring ways to help young Neets.
More than £20m in government funding is being spent on a variety of initiatives across London, from youth hubs to mental health support.
The money is funding two trailblazer projects in London, one focused on care-experienced young people in 12 boroughs, and a broader scheme that works across the capital.
The Greater London Authority (GLA), which leads the projects, has shared the initial results from year one of the two schemes with the BBC.
By the end of June 2026, London's two trailblazer schemes had offered support to more than 2,600 young people.
The programme offers a range of support, including access to mental health and wellbeing services at colleges and universities, help moving into further education, work experience, careers events, mentoring and practical help finding a job.
The programme is funded for two years until the end of March 2027.
'Constant rejections'
Mattie Davies is a 19-year-old from London.
He recently left college, and since then, has struggled to find work.
"I applied to a good few thousand and it's constant rejections," Davies said.
He has found work as a delivery driver but he says the wage is not enough to pay his bills.
"Uber will take anyone and that's what I didn't want," he said. "I wanted a job I could go into and break down all of my barriers and build myself up as a person."
He has not been receiving support from London's two Youth Guarantee Trailblazer schemes.
Instead, he's been getting support from Millwall FC, where he plays football, and its youth programmes.
Mattie Davies says applying for jobs has been a struggle
Lord Bailey said the government should instead focus on helping businesses employ young people.
"Sixty per cent of young people not moving into full-time employment or education show you it's actually a failure," Lord Bailey said.
"That money would be better spent giving businesses some headroom so that they can actually afford to employ young people."
The skills minister said London's Youth Guarantee Trailblazer schemes were helping young people who face several challenges, such as mental health difficulties or experience of the care system.
"The fact that a lot of them are succeeding at the first opportunity is a good result," the minister said.
"It's worked exactly in the terms we set for it, which is young people who were furthest away from the labour market able to get back into the labour market, and learning about how we engage with some of those young people."
The eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England have received a total of £90m in central government funding over the two years of the programme.
The trailblazers were part of the Labour government's plan to help 16 to 24-year-olds classed as Neet, whose number has been rising in recent years.
There were 125,949 Neets in London at the end of 2025, the highest number of any region in England, according to government data.
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