Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 870: 24th October 2026. Will the Budget Back Employers to Create the Vacancies Young People Need?
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here’s a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
Vacancy numbers are down again
The latest ONS Labour Market insights came out this week. We have had another drop in vacancies. Now down to 691,000 vacancies, now the lowest level since July – Sept 2014. This is for the entire labour market… but we have 891,000 NEETs, 2.7 Million Economically Inactive due to ill health… 2.5 unemployed for every vacancy. Surely, hopefully… in the budget (which is next week), we will see more measures to support employers to create the vacancies that are so, so needed?
We had some cracking articles this week. One that really stood out for me was from Stephen Evans at Learning and Work Institute with Time to Make the Youth Guarantee Real: A Promise and Plan for Every Young Person
The ratio of young people who are NEET gets higher, the older the person is!
In true Stephen Evans style, he deep-dived into the data and shared some really interesting insights on NEETs:
- The older the young person, the higher the NEET rate. Stephen shared that 5% of 16 to 17-year-olds are NEET, rising to 16% of 22-year-olds… so it is three times higher for 22-year-olds.
- Half of all NEETs are not on any out-of-work benefits at all.
This reflects the scarcity of available jobs (the ONS point earlier), but only 58% of NEETs have never had a paid job. Only 1 in 4 NEETs are on unemployment-related benefits, and 1 in 4 are on incapacity benefits and receive little or no help getting back into education or work… the remaining half are not on out-of-work benefits at all. Stephen highlights that some young people are waiting to start a job or course, or taking a gap year, but others risk drifting further from education and work.
Half of all NEETs are not on any out-of-work benefits at all
The Government’s noises so far, particularly around the Youth Guarantee, have focused on providing ongoing support to those on Universal Credit. Learning and Work are highlighting that half of all NEETs are not in this category… so how will support be provided, and when will the young person be ‘flagged’ for additional support? Something needs to change!
Milburn’s review on NEETs is due soon, but for me all eyes are on the Budget. Will the Chancellor support employers to create and stimulate more vacancies? Next week will answer the question. If we don’t have the volume of vacancies, it doesn’t really matter what we do on work experience, qualification reform, or technical and vocational reforms… we need vacancies for people to step into, and progress!
Adult Education should be treated as Essential National Infrastructure
I am also really pleased that Adult Education and Lifelong Learning has been receiving some limelight this week. A new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Further Education and Lifelong Learning, ‘Skills for Work, Life and Place’, calls for adult education to be treated as essential national infrastructure, helping to tackle skills shortages and economic inactivity while also improving health, reducing isolation and strengthening communities. I agree, it should be national infrastructure… but will the Budget support this?
We had two really cracking thought leadership articles on this from Mark Morrin … where he made some really interesting points on the importance of a National Skills account, national and local, and on employers giving time and being supported (as employers always seem to be missing from the lifelong learning and adult ed debate)! … and Dr Mark Hyde from ETF also highlighting the longer term and wider benefit of Adult Education on society.
What do Feta cheese shopping habits have to do with Skills?
I loved catching up with Phil Smith this week (Chair of Skills England). Ever wondered what the shopping habits for Feta cheese, Ever wondered what the shopping habits for Feta cheese have in common with skills and Apprenticeships? Well… Phil explains all. We also cover more on employability, skills for work, reskilling adults as well as NEETs, and how the Employability Skills Framework helps turn work experience into opportunity… and sooo much more!
I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week!
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Firstly, Time to Make the Youth Guarantee Real: A Promise and Plan for Every Young Person By Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute
Secondly, £100m for Apprenticeships is a Start but in the age of AI will it go far Enough? By Lauren Webb, CRO at Instep
Finally, From Good Ideas to Real Impact: What Effective Edtech Ventures Need to Scale By Dr. Asyia Kazmi OBE, CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Longer Lives need a Learning Guarantee By Mark Morrin, Principal Research Consultant at the Lifelong Education Institute
The Learning Outcome that wasn’t on the Specification By Claire Wicher, EdD Researcher at Edge Hill University
A Love Letter to Karens and the People We Choose to Hear By Mitzi Danielson-Kaslik MICA CG, Risk, Governance & Compliance
What the Trading Floor Taught me About Financial Education By Martin Hills, a former LIFFE and IPE floor trader and the founder of Financial eLearning
What’s New in the World of FE?
Phil Smith on Jobs Plans, the Employability Skills Framework and Keeping Pace with AI
Annoucements
ONS Labour Market Data October 2026: Vacancies Fall to Lowest Level Since 2014 By the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
‘Generational Moment’ as Government acts on Landmark Antisemitism Review By the Department for Education (DfE)
Major boost for young people in Telford as Youth Hub opens to support them towards work By the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Ready to vote at 16? MPs to Examine how Schools Teach Politics, Impartiality and Misinformation By the House of Commons
Reports
Cross-party MPs call for adult education reset to boost economy, jobs and communities By the House of Commons
Graduate Job Prospects Shaped more by the Economy and Public Sector Funding than AI By Prospects at Jisc
New Jisc guide helps FE providers bridge the gap between teaching and IT teams By Jisc
Voices
Adult Education Is an Investment, Not a Cost, That Has Far Reaching Benefits for Society By Dr Mark Hyde, Director of Professional Practice and Research at the Education Training Foundation (ETF)
Why AI Demands a new Approach to Assessment By Annie Chechitelli, CPO at Turnitin
AI Readiness Can’t Be Taught in a Classroom Alone: Why Universities and Industry Need to Build It Together By Andriy Pereymybida, Talent Acceleration Center Director at SoftServe and Mariia Rashkevych, Global University Alliances Manager at SoftServe
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and