02 May 2026
Skills England summary of young people’s employability skills
An article by the co-CEOs of Skills England, Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean, summarises discussions they’ve had with young people, employers and leaders in Mayoral Combined Authorities and education.
These discussions, arranged with Youth Futures Foundation, focused on youth employability, skills and work readiness. Their first take-away from the discussions is that young people are developing skills that often go unrecognised, as recruitment focuses on formal qualifications rather than the essential skills, such as communication, resilience, etc., that young people also develop.
They link this to Skills England’s aim to build ‘a common skills language’ and work developing skills passports to recognise the skills young people may have in addition to qualifications.
To support young people transitioning between education and the workplace, the feedback included that careers support needed to be ‘structured and sustained over time, instead of a one-off isolated event’. The discussion also identified work experience as the most effective way to gain and show employability skills, and employer feedback stressed that these placements need to be meaningful.
Skills England have said that they want to work to understand what makes work experience effective, as well as the barriers that some young people may have to overcome to benefit from it.
They also recognised that young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) are not one group, but a mix of young people in a range of circumstances. Finally, the most consistent message was around the fragmentation of the system, making it too complex. Skills England see their role to be to make pathways, occupations and the labour market clearer.
Read the full article from Skills England.
These discussions, arranged with Youth Futures Foundation, focused on youth employability, skills and work readiness. Their first take-away from the discussions is that young people are developing skills that often go unrecognised, as recruitment focuses on formal qualifications rather than the essential skills, such as communication, resilience, etc., that young people also develop.
They link this to Skills England’s aim to build ‘a common skills language’ and work developing skills passports to recognise the skills young people may have in addition to qualifications.
To support young people transitioning between education and the workplace, the feedback included that careers support needed to be ‘structured and sustained over time, instead of a one-off isolated event’. The discussion also identified work experience as the most effective way to gain and show employability skills, and employer feedback stressed that these placements need to be meaningful.
Skills England have said that they want to work to understand what makes work experience effective, as well as the barriers that some young people may have to overcome to benefit from it.
They also recognised that young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) are not one group, but a mix of young people in a range of circumstances. Finally, the most consistent message was around the fragmentation of the system, making it too complex. Skills England see their role to be to make pathways, occupations and the labour market clearer.
Read the full article from Skills England.
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