Following Labour’s disappointing local election results, Prime Minister Keir Starmer relaunched his premiership with young people at its centre, pledging to go “much further” on investment in apprenticeships, technical excellence colleges and SEND, and committing that every young person struggling to find a job will receive a guaranteed offer of a job, training or work placement.

An ambitious youth experience scheme with the EU was named as central to Britain’s new relationship with Europe, with Starmer acknowledging that “Brexit snatched away their ability to live easily and feasibly in Europe.” Negotiations have so far stalled over the UK’s insistence on a cap of below 50,000 entrants.

The announcements build on the existing Youth Guarantee a paid work offer for young people on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning and the government’s £1 billion youth new deal announced in March, aimed at creating 200,000 more jobs for young people.

Connie Muttock, Head of Policy at the Centre for Young Lives, said: “Work experience can be game-changing for some young people struggling to join the labour market. But it must also come alongside wider, earlier, more holistic support to tackle the root causes of being NEET.”