You might have seen the headlines.
The number of people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training could reach 1.25 million within five years, according to a new warning.
That is a huge number.
But this is not just about statistics. It is about real lives. It is about what happens when you leave school, college, sixth form, a course, a job, or an apprenticeship and suddenly think:
“What am I meant to do now?”
If that sounds familiar, you are not alone.
You might be 16, 17, 18 or 19 and feel like everyone else has a plan. One person is off to university. Someone else has an apprenticeship. Someone has got a job. Someone looks like they are already building their whole future on Instagram.
And then there is you.
Maybe you are not sure what you want. Maybe you have applied for jobs and heard nothing back. Maybe you started a course and it did not feel right. Maybe you left school feeling burnt out. Maybe your confidence has taken a knock. Maybe home life is complicated. Maybe you are dealing with anxiety, money worries, health issues, caring responsibilities, or just that heavy feeling of being stuck.
The important thing to know is this:
You are not a failure because you do not have everything sorted yet.
You are at the start of adult life. That start can be exciting, but it can also be confusing, unfair and honestly pretty overwhelming.
When people talk about being “NEET”, they mean not in education, employment or training. It is a clunky official phrase, but behind it are people who may simply need better support, clearer options, more confidence, or a first proper chance.
The danger is that words like NEET can make you sound like a category instead of a person.
You are not a category.
You are someone with skills, interests, worries, humour, ideas, strengths and potential. Even if you cannot see all of that clearly right now.
Why this warning matters
If the number of people not in education, work or training rises to 1.25 million, that means more people could end up feeling left behind before adult life has even properly started.
That matters because your first steps after school or college can shape how you see yourself.
A first job can teach you that you can cope.
A first course can show you that you are better at something than you thought.
A first apprenticeship can help you build skills while earning money.
A volunteering role can remind you that you are useful.
A part-time job can give you routine, confidence and something to put on your CV.
A short training course can open a door that was not there before.
None of these steps has to be perfect. You do not need to find your dream career straight away. You do not need to know what you want to do for the next forty years. Most adults do not even know that, even when they pretend they do.
What matters is movement.
A small step is still a step.
Why it can feel so hard to start
People love saying, “Just get a job.”
That sounds simple, but it is not always simple.
You might look at job adverts and see “experience required” everywhere. Then you wonder how you are meant to get experience when nobody will give you experience.
You might apply for ten jobs, twenty jobs, thirty jobs, and hear nothing. That silence can really mess with your confidence. It can make you think, “What is wrong with me?”
But often, nothing is wrong with you.
Sometimes your CV needs changing. Sometimes the job market is tough. Sometimes employers are slow. Sometimes the online application system is awful. Sometimes hundreds of people apply for the same role. Sometimes you are applying for jobs that are not the right fit yet. Sometimes you need someone to show you a better route in.
Being rejected by a system does not mean you have no value.
It means you need a route that works for you.
That is what Ideas For You is about.
Not shouting at you. Not judging you. Not pretending everything is easy.
Just giving you ideas, routes, explanations and encouragement when you are not sure what to do next.
You do not need one perfect life plan
There is a lot of pressure to “know what you want to be”.
But at 16 to 19, you are still finding things out.
You might not know whether you are practical, creative, academic, technical, caring, organised, sporty, business-minded, good with people, good with animals, good with numbers, good with your hands, good with words, or good at staying calm when everyone else is panicking.
You find these things out by trying.
That might mean trying a weekend job. It might mean doing a college course. It might mean shadowing someone for a day. It might mean volunteering. It might mean doing a short online course. It might mean helping out at a local event. It might mean asking a family friend about their job. It might mean speaking to a careers adviser. It might mean going to a job centre, even if that feels awkward. It might mean applying for something you are not 100% sure about just to see what happens.
You are allowed to try things and change direction.
Changing direction is not the same as failing.
Sometimes you only discover what suits you by discovering what does not.
Starter jobs are not pointless
One of the biggest myths is that a starter job does not matter.
It does.
A job in a café can teach you customer service, teamwork, timekeeping and how to deal with pressure.
A retail job can teach you communication, problem-solving, money handling and patience.
A warehouse job can teach you organisation, reliability and working at pace.
A care role can teach you responsibility, empathy and confidence.
A reception or admin job can teach you phone skills, emails, attention to detail and how workplaces actually operate.
A hospitality job can teach you resilience, people skills and how to stay calm when things get busy.
Even if the job is not your dream job, it can still give you evidence.
Evidence that you turn up.
Evidence that you can learn.
Evidence that you can work with others.
Evidence that someone trusted you with responsibility.
That matters when you apply for the next thing.
Your first step does not have to impress everyone. It just has to help you move.
If you feel stuck, start smaller
When life feels overwhelming, big advice is not always helpful.
“Choose a career.”
“Fix your CV.”
“Get experience.”
“Sort your future.”
That can feel like too much.
So start smaller.
Ask yourself:
What is one thing I could do this week?
Not this year. Not for the rest of my life. This week.
Could you update your CV?
Could you ask someone to check it?
Could you apply for three jobs?
Could you search for apprenticeships near you?
Could you look at college courses starting soon?
Could you find one volunteering opportunity?
Could you email a local business asking if they ever take on weekend staff?
Could you ask someone you trust what they think you are good at?
Could you write down five things you would not mind trying?
Could you look up free training in your area?
Could you practise answering interview questions?
Could you make a list of places you could realistically travel to for work?
Small steps do not look dramatic, but they count.
Confidence often comes after action, not before it.
That means you may have to do the thing while still feeling nervous.
You may have to send the application while doubting yourself.
You may have to walk into the interview while your stomach is doing cartwheels.
You may have to start the course before you feel like you belong there.
That is normal.
Confidence is not always something you wait for. Sometimes it is something you build by doing small things while scared.
What if school did not go well?
If school did not go well for you, that does not mean your future is ruined.
Maybe you did not get the grades you wanted. Maybe you struggled with exams. Maybe you had a bad experience. Maybe you were bored. Maybe you were dealing with things outside school that made it hard to focus. Maybe you have dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, health issues, caring responsibilities, or something else that made education harder than people realised.
Your school results matter, but they are not the whole story of you.
There are still routes.
You can resit English or maths.
You can look at college courses.
You can explore apprenticeships.
You can start in a basic job and build from there.
You can learn practical skills.
You can gain certificates.
You can volunteer.
You can build a portfolio.
You can ask for support.
You can take a different route from the one you expected.
Some people go straight down the obvious path. Others take side roads. Side roads still get you somewhere.
What if you do not want university?
You do not have to go to university to have a good future.
University is right for some people. It is not right for everyone.
You might prefer earning while learning. You might prefer practical work. You might not want student debt. You might not enjoy classrooms. You might want to start work sooner. You might be better suited to an apprenticeship, a trade, a creative route, a business idea, a technical course, or a job where you can work your way up.
That is not “less than”.
It is just a different route.
We need to stop acting as though one path is automatically better than another.
A good future can come through university.
A good future can come through apprenticeships.
A good future can come through college.
A good future can come through work.
A good future can come through practical skills.
A good future can come through a route you have not even discovered yet.
What matters is finding a route that fits you well enough to start.
You do not have to be perfectly motivated
Sometimes people assume that if you are not in work, education or training, you must not care.
That is not fair.
You might care a lot. You might care so much that you feel frozen.
You might be scared of choosing the wrong thing. You might be embarrassed to ask for help. You might not know where to start. You might feel behind. You might be tired of being compared to other people. You might have had knockbacks that made you stop trying for a while.
That does not mean you do not care.
It means you are human.
Motivation comes and goes. That is why routine helps. Support helps. Clear information helps. Encouragement helps. Having a next step helps.
You do not need to wake up tomorrow as a completely new person.
You just need one next move.
What employers should understand
If you are an employer reading this, the answer is not just telling 16 to 19 year olds to “try harder”.
You need to make entry-level jobs genuinely entry-level.
You need to stop asking for experience on jobs that are meant to give people experience.
You need to explain what the job actually involves.
You need to offer proper training.
You need to reply to applicants when you can.
You need to give young applicants a fair chance, even if their CV is short.
You need to remember that someone applying for their first job may not know workplace language yet.
You can change someone’s life by giving them their first real opportunity.
That does not mean lowering standards. It means opening doors.
What schools, colleges and support services should understand
If you work with 16 to 19 year olds, remember that not everyone is ready at the same time.
Some people need a clear plan.
Some need confidence.
Some need mental health support.
Some need help with transport.
Some need work experience.
Some need a second chance.
Some need someone to notice they are drifting before they disappear from the system completely.
Careers advice should not just be a leaflet or a rushed conversation in Year 11.
It should be practical, honest and repeated.
People need to hear about real jobs, real routes and real next steps. They need to know what an apprenticeship actually is. They need to know how to apply for college. They need to know what employers look for. They need to know how to write a CV when they have barely any experience. They need to know that being unsure does not make them hopeless.
The system needs to be easier to understand.
Because when support is confusing, the people who need it most are often the first to fall away.
What you can do today
If you are reading this and you feel stuck, do not try to fix your whole life today.
Just do one useful thing.
Write a basic CV.
Search for apprenticeships in your area.
Look at local college courses.
Ask someone to help you practise interview answers.
Make a list of jobs you would be willing to try.
Look up volunteering opportunities.
Ask a local café, shop, gym, salon, garage, nursery, charity shop, theatre, hotel or sports club if they ever take on beginners.
Check your local council website for youth support or training schemes.
Speak to a careers adviser if you can.
Ask someone you trust, “What do you think I’d be good at?”
You might not get an answer straight away. That is okay.
You are looking for a door. Sometimes you have to knock on a few.
The 1.25 million warning should not become your future
The warning that the number could rise to 1.25 million is serious. It should push the government, employers, schools, colleges and communities to do better.
But it should not make you feel doomed.
You are not a statistic waiting to happen.
You are a person at the beginning of your story.
You may be unsure. You may be tired. You may be frustrated. You may not know what comes next.
But being stuck now does not mean you will be stuck forever.
Your next step does not have to be impressive.
It just has to be real.
Start there.
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