Renee Preston, director at Gallaway Construction and founder of Construction for Women<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
In the 1980s, Britain faced a youth employment crisis. Unemployment peaked near 12 per cent \u2013 and for school leavers it was far worse. The government accepted responsibility and introduced the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), a national guarantee that every 16 to 18-year-old not in education or work would have a paid training place.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a myth that school leavers lack motivation \u2013 many are desperate to start work but the door\u2019s firmly shut\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Between 1983 and 1989, YTS offered around 400,000 placements each year. It wasn\u2019t perfect, but it gave young people structure, discipline and a route into work. It also established a simple truth: the state must actively build the nation\u2019s skills pipeline, not just incentivise it.<\/span><\/p>\n Four decades on, that principle has disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n At 16, a young person in Britain can pay taxes, serve in the armed forces or become a parent, yet they cannot gain paid experience on most construction sites.<\/span><\/p>\n We have created a system where employers are desperate for skills but young people are barred from gaining them. The result is predictable: disengagement, wasted potential and a widening skills gap.<\/span><\/p>\n When YTS was launched, youth unemployment among under-18s stood at around 27 per cent. Today, while overall figures are lower, the pattern of exclusion remains. According to the Department for Education, 7.8 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds in England were not in any education or training at the end of 2024 despite compulsory participation until 18.\u2028Across the wider 16 to 24 cohort, 12.8 per cent \u2013 around 948,000 young people \u2013 are not in education, employment or training. That\u2019s the highest level in more than a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n Different labels, same problem: too many teenagers are cut off from opportunity, especially in the sectors that need them most.<\/span><\/p>\n The idea that today\u2019s school leavers lack motivation is a myth. Many are desperate to start work but find the door firmly shut.<\/span><\/p>\n Only this week, I took time out of an already full schedule to teach a Level 1 bricklaying class at Warrington & Vale Royal College. The students were enthusiastic, focused and preparing for their next two years in construction. Several told me they wanted to gain site experience immediately but simply couldn\u2019t. The regulations make them wait until they turn 18, by which time, for many, the spark will have faded.<\/span><\/p>\n The message is clear: by protecting young people from work, we are excluding them from opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n The YTS had weaknesses, training quality varied and a minority of employers exploited it. But its principle of universal access worked. It showed that if the government guarantees opportunity, young people take it.<\/span><\/p>\n A modern version should be introduced to preserve that universality while enforcing higher standards. A minimum of one day per week off the job, embedded mentoring, mandatory modules in retrofit and digital construction, and outcome-based funding tied to NVQ completion would all ensure quality and accountability.<\/span><\/p>\n This is not nostalgia \u2013 it\u2019s a necessity.<\/span><\/p>\n A new Youth Trades Guarantee (YTG) could re-establish a state-backed right to training for every 16 to 18-year-old not in education or employment.\u2028Delivered through local Skills Partnerships and bringing together contractors, councils and colleges, a YTG would provide structured, paid and safeguarded access to work across the built environment.<\/span><\/p>\n Key principles:<\/span><\/p>\n This is how to rebuild the entry-level foundation the UK economy now lacks.<\/span><\/p>\n Through my own work with colleges and local authorities, I\u2019ve seen first-hand that early access can work safely and effectively. In places like Warrington, Trafford and Salford, collaborative programmes are already engaging hundreds of students each month and turning taster sessions into employment pathways. The data speaks for itself \u2013 where opportunity exists, young people seize it and sustain it.<\/span><\/p>\n Britain doesn\u2019t have a generational problem, it has a systems problem. The YTS generation built the infrastructure we still rely on because someone gave them a start.\u2028Today\u2019s young people are equally capable \u2013 they simply need the same chance.<\/span><\/p>\n It was reported last year that the construction industry needs 251,000 additional workers by 2028. That demand will not be met by policy alone. It requires a national guarantee that every young person can learn at a grassroots level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rebuilding the trades starts with rebuilding access. The government must move beyond piecemeal funding and establish a YTG that restores the promise once made under YTS \u2013 a guarantee that no willing young person is left waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n We once ensured opportunity for every 16-year-old, and it worked.\u2028It is time to do so again.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Renee Preston, director at Gallaway Construction and founder of Construction for Women In the 1980s, Britain faced a youth employment crisis. Unemployment peaked near 12 per cent \u2013 and for school leavers it was far worse. The government accepted responsibility and introduced the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), a national guarantee that every 16 to 18-year-old …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":532804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[567,575],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-532821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-skills"],"yoast_head":"\nRebuilding access<\/span><\/h3>\n
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