The publication of Alan Milburn’s interim review alongside the latest NEET figures should prompt honest reflection across education, employment and skills.

The report highlights a challenge that many of us working in this space see every day. Too many young people are still leaving education without a clear sense of direction, confidence or connection to the labour market. For many, particularly those with additional barriers or SEND, the transition into adulthood remains fragmented and inconsistent.

The issue is not a lack of potential.

What the review reinforces is that the issue is rarely a lack of potential. It is usually a lack of joined-up pathways, meaningful exposure to work and consistent support through key transition points.

At Get Set UK, through Talentino! and Ductu, we work closely with schools, colleges and employers across this agenda, and the challenge is becoming increasingly visible.

Schools are trying to deliver meaningful careers education alongside rising complexity of need and increasing operational pressures. Employers often want to support young people but lack confidence, structure or accessible routes to engage. Young people themselves are frequently expected to make major life decisions without ever really experiencing the world of work in a meaningful way.

Last year alone, we supported more than 4,000 SEND workplace experiences and worked with over 100 national employers to help create opportunities that feel realistic, supportive and accessible for young people who are too often excluded from traditional models.

One of the biggest lessons from that work is that workplace experience cannot be treated as a standalone event. It needs to sit within a much wider journey around aspiration, confidence, preparation and reflection.

For some young people, particularly those with SEND, simply entering a workplace environment for the first time can be transformational. But equally, it can also feel overwhelming without the right preparation and support around it.

That is why I think the future of this space will increasingly combine physical and digital experiences together, rather than viewing them as competing approaches.

A young person might visit a real construction site to understand the pace, environment and culture of work first-hand. Afterwards, they may continue exploring that sector through immersive digital experiences or simulations that allow them to safely build familiarity and confidence. The ability to then debrief and reflect on that experience through AI-enabled careers support, helping identify strengths, interests and next steps, starts to create a far more personalised transition journey.

That is very different to the traditional “one week of work experience in Year 10” model that has existed for years.

This forms part of the product roadmap we are building towards because scalable, flexible and inclusive workplace engagement is becoming increasingly important if we genuinely want to widen participation.

The challenge is particularly acute for young people facing barriers around anxiety, transport, confidence, health conditions or limited local employer access. Traditional delivery models alone will not solve that.

The review also rightly highlights the growing issue around economic inactivity among young people. Often, by the time somebody formally becomes NEET, disconnection has already been building for a long time.

-Confidence drops

-Engagement drops

-Routine drops

-Belief in future opportunities drops

Re-engaging young people later becomes significantly harder than intervening earlier and more consistently. That is why earlier exposure to employers, careers education and workplace environments matters so much, not as an add-on, but as a core part of preparing young people for adulthood.

I also think we need to continue challenging the idea that there is only one “successful” route after education.

Technical pathways, vocational learning, apprenticeships and supported employment all have enormous value, particularly when aligned to real labour market demand and meaningful employer relationships.

The UK has no shortage of talented young people. The bigger challenge is whether we are building systems that genuinely help them navigate the transition into adult life with confidence, structure and opportunity.

That requires education providers, employers, policymakers and other delivery organisations to work much more closely together than they traditionally have.

The problems highlighted in the review are structural, but many of the practical solutions already exist. The focus now needs to be on scaling what works and designing systems that are genuinely built around how young people experience transition in the modern world.

At Get Set UK, this is an agenda we are proud to be part of. Through our work with young people, schools, colleges, employers and partners, we will continue helping to build more inclusive, practical and meaningful pathways into work, so more young people can move into adulthood with confidence, structure and opportunity.

Read the full Alan Milburn article here