Why are young people not in work?

Ava heads to Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace, where newly appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden has launched a new pilot scheme. His idea: bring job centre facilities into community hubs like football grounds, making it easier for young people to access support and find work.

In this report, we hear directly from McFadden about why he believes taking job centres out of traditional settings could help tackle barriers that many young jobseekers face.

But how well will this work in practice? Ava also speaks to Lucy Bannister, Head of Policy and Influencing at Turn2us, who provides insight into the challenges facing young people today, from insecure work to the cost of living crisis. She questions whether schemes like this can meaningfully address deeper structural issues, and stresses the importance of ensuring that benefits and employment support systems actually meet people where they are.

With youth unemployment and underemployment continuing to affect thousands across the UK, could this experiment in south London point the way to a new model of support? Or is it simply repackaging existing services in a new setting?

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