A guest blog by Angela Lawlor, founder of UK Manufacturing Festivals
One piece of advice I gave to my children when they entered the world of work was “It’s much easier to get a job if you are already employed”.
Good advice when you already have your foot on the first rung of the ladder, but what if you have never had that first opportunity? What if you left school 12 months ago, and despite your absolute best efforts, your CV remains a blank slate?
How would a potential employer view that? Lazy? Not bright enough? Lacking effort?
I think back to the times I have had to job hunt myself and what it felt like to apply for one job after another and face rejection after rejection. Repeated setbacks take a toll on your mental health, knock your confidence and create untold frustration and tension. You start to question your abilities and your future.
This is the reality facing young people who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) in the UK. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), an estimated 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were classed as NEET between April and June 2026. That is a staggering 13% of that entire age group.
Shocking statistics! And as manufacturing employers, we need to look beyond assumptions about motivation and ask a more difficult question: “How many young people are missing out through a lack of opportunity and support?
The hidden barriers
We have to remember that being NEET describes a young person’s current circumstances; it does not define their potential or their future. Often, the barriers holding them back have absolutely nothing to do with their work ethic, but rather the complex systems they are trying to navigate.
For some families on low incomes, the decision to take up an apprenticeship can bring financial complications. A young person’s move into work or training can affect the benefits a household receives, and that can create a difficult choice at a time when the family should be celebrating a positive step forward. I have seen first-hand how these circumstances can affect young people’s choices.
Thankfully, the government has now recognised the need for support and introduced a new bursary of up to £4,500 a year for eligible households receiving Universal Credit when a young person takes up an apprenticeship. It’s a welcome step, but it also highlights how important it is to understand the practical barriers that can stand between a young person and an opportunity.
When exam results don’t tell the whole story
Another major hurdle is our education system. We still place enormous weight on academic results when judging a young person’s potential. But academia isn’t suited to everyone, and exam results don’t tell us everything about someone’s ability to succeed in the workplace.
Many young people work better with their hands. Many have practical mindsets, natural problem-solving abilities and are naturally creative. Yet the system leaves them feeling like they aren’t “bright enough.”
We see posts on LinkedIn all the time with business leaders proclaiming that “aptitude is far more important than exam results.” But it raises a critical question for recruiters: How do you actually measure that aptitude from words on a basic CV?
The truth is, it’s difficult to judge someone’s practical ability, creativity or potential from a CV alone. If we rely too heavily on polished applications and academic grades, we risk overlooking talented young people who could thrive in our businesses if only they were given the chance to demonstrate what they can do.
Opening doors
What can we do as a business and local community to open these young people up to regional opportunities, support them, and provide that vital connection to employers?
We have to actively create spaces where conversations can happen outside the confines of a job interview.
That is exactly why we are doing something different at this year’s Shropshire & Telford Manufacturing Festival. Once the local school groups have finished their sessions and gone home at 3:15pm, we are throwing open our doors to young people who are currently NEET.
We want them to walk into that room and discover opportunities they may never have known existed. To meet the people doing the jobs, get hands-on, ask questions and begin to see where they might fit into an industry that needs people with all sorts of skills and abilities.”
More importantly, we want our manufacturers – our exhibitors – to talk with these young people. We want our business community to actively listen, understand the unique issues they are up against, look past the blank CVs and hopefully help them see that there is a future for them.
Shifting our perspective as employers
If a young person hasn’t had the opportunity to work, it is up to us to bridge the gap. By changing how we recruit – focusing on trial days, practical aptitude and mentorship rather than rigid application forms – we aren’t just doing a good deed for Shropshire and Telford, we are unlocking an untapped, incredibly resilient pipeline of talent that our sector drastically needs. Let’s stop looking at what their CV lacks, and start looking at where their potential lies.
