Britain could be heading for a ‘lost generation’ as almost one million young people are out of work, education or training, according to a government review which warned the situation could worsen rapidly in the coming years.Unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK is now at its highest level since 2014, the report said. It warned that if urgent action is not taken, the number of young people in education, employment or training could rise to 1.25 million by 2031, meaning around one in six young people could be out of the system.The review was launched last year by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to examine the causes of rising youth unemployment and declining participation in training and education.“We risk losing a generation,” former Labor cabinet minister Alan Milburn, who led the review, said before presenting the report.“This is not a failure of the youth. It is a failure of a system stuck in the past,” he added. The report found that 84 percent of NEETs actually want to work or train, but many are struggling to secure entry-level opportunities.According to the review, the UK has seen a sharp decline in jobs traditionally held by young people, including hospitality work, weekend jobs and apprenticeships. Many young people are unable to even reach the “first rung of the career ladder,” the report said.“Whether it’s education or health or welfare, the system is failing to enable their participation in the labor market,” Milburn said.Responding to the findings, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the report “severe” and said the government could not allow Britain to spiral into a “lost generation”.“This is a real serious report, and we cannot afford, we will not allow a lost generation,” Starmer said, speaking at a training facility in west London, where he met apprentices.He said the review showed that rising youth unemployment was a “complex problem” and not the result of a single factor, adding that the government needed to do more to tackle the problem.
