Alan Milburn told The Times that the “longstanding decline” in Saturday jobs means people are not prepared for the workplace. Milburn, a health secretary under Tony Blair, is leading a review into the “lost generation” of almost a million young people who are Neets- not in education, employment or training. Employers are finding that young people “aren’t work ready” when they enter full-time jobs after school.

Milburn said. “Young people don’t necessarily have work experience, and what they have learnt at school isn’t necessarily pertinent for the world of work,” he added. “So, we’ve got to look at both of these issues and we will be.”

An early finding of the review into Neets has been a need to reverse a cultural shift over the last two decades away from teenagers getting their first job at an early age.