In a Year 10 classroom at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College in Cheshire, the usual quiet of a lesson gives way to a sudden hum of conversation. Teenagers pair off, settle into chairs facing one another, and begin conducting mock job interviews. Their handshakes are firm, their eye contact deliberate, and their answers rehearsed with the seriousness of candidates chasing a first paycheque.
These pupils are only 14 and 15 years old, yet they are already being groomed for the world of work. The exercise is not preparation for an upcoming exam. It is part of a dedicated careers programme that runs every fortnight alongside their regular subjects, equipping them with skills that many adults still struggle to master.
Learning the Unwritten Rules of Employment
Across the room, students practise introducing themselves, fielding questions such as when they last worked in a team or how they handled a mistake. In the weeks ahead, they will also learn how to draft a CV and understand their rights as employees. The school has made employability a priority from the moment pupils arrive, with speed-networking events in Year 7 and nine guiding principles, including resilience and problem-solving, displayed in every classroom.
Fourteen-year-old Ati, dressed in her cadet uniform, says the lessons have opened her eyes to rituals she had never considered. She explains that she has learned how to address different people and how to present herself, including the simple but daunting task of walking into a room and introducing herself. For Ati, these are new skills worth having.
Her classmate Myla, also 14, believes Year 10 is not too early to start rehearsing for interviews. With part-time jobs likely within two years, she says the practice helps calm the nerves that come with unfamiliar situations.
Careers teacher Paisley Charlton says the goal is to ensure students leave school confident enough to seek work experience, attend interviews, and speak about themselves positively. Since the school revamped its careers education a couple of years ago, none of its students has left at 18 without being in education, employment or training.
A National Crisis of Lost Potential
The stakes could hardly be higher. Nearly one million young people across the UK, or one in eight of those aged 16 to 24, are not in education, employment or training, according to the latest estimates. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has described the figure as both a moral failure and an economic catastrophe.
This week, a major independent review led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn is expected to outline how the government should tackle the crisis and recommend ways to bring more young people into work. Schools are likely to be asked to do more to ensure pupils are work-ready when they leave, building on plans to let students in England choose new vocational GCSEs from the age of 14.
Head teacher Ellen Walton says careers education cannot be something that happens only at the end of school or at transition points. She describes it as a moral duty to give young people everything they need to make the right choices, adding that her staff work hard to ensure every pupil leaves in education, employment or training.
Businesses and Schools Must Both Step Up
Elsewhere in the country, charities such as the Youth Careers Collective are working with dozens of schools in London to bridge the gap between education and employment. Chief executive Matt Lent says the organisation brings employers into schools and disadvantaged pupils into workplaces for networking opportunities. He warns, however, that preparing young people for work is not enough on its own, and that employers must also take responsibility for creating accessible opportunities.
The Gatsby Foundation's Beth Jones, who helped develop the guidance schools use to structure careers education, says the more benchmarks a school meets, the less likely its students are to become Neet. She acknowledges that careers guidance cannot solve every barrier young people face, but insists it remains an important part of helping them navigate their futures.
Yet the problem begins long before the teenage years. Milburn's interim report noted that the system can predict from the age of four who is most likely to fail. Children who start school without basic school-ready skills are nearly three times as likely to become Neet by 16 or 17. Pupils with special educational needs, those from poorer backgrounds, and those with mental health issues are also at greater risk.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has cautioned that a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work given the varied circumstances of young people who are Neet. It says a key question for the government will be how much it is willing to invest in the short term in the hope of a payoff in future years.
Back in the classroom, 15-year-old Riley is packing up after her employability lesson. She dreams of acting or working with animals and believes the skills she has learned will serve her well when her first real interview arrives. She says the lessons teach her a lot about herself and how she can improve, and that it feels good to be prepared for the future.
