National Youth Strategy – Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Nation

It was pleasing to see the government announce it’s plans on Tuesday to develop a new National Youth Strategy to break down barriers to opportunities for young people. The new National Youth Strategy should be by young people, for young people, as part of the government’s mission to improve opportunity. An initial £85 million from government and £100 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme is committed to improving youth outcomes between now and 2028.

The strategy, which was announced by Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary (New National Youth Strategy to break down barriers to opportunity for young people – GOV.UK), stated it will prioritise delivering better coordinated youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level. It will make sure decision-making moves away from a one-size-fits all approach, handing power back to young people and their communities, and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.

Following engagement with young people to share their view as part of a “‘Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Nation’ conversation, a youth advisory board will be established to work with the government to tackle specific youth issues. As part of the National Youth Strategy, the government has stated it will continue to support access for young people to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities and will launch a Local Youth Transformation pilot and expand the Creative Careers Programme. The Youth Guarantee which will ensure every 18-21 year old in England is earning or learning, with more details to follow in the Spring.

This all sounds excellent news, but as part of the shift in strategy, a decision to wind down the National Citizen Service (NCS) from March 2025 was also announced in order take a new approach. NCS programme was originally established by David Cameron’s government in 2011 as part of its “big society” agenda to bring together local communities by helping young people and moved under the management of the NCS Trust in 2013. The NCS statement following the announcement can be read here – Statement from NCS following the announcement from DCMS secretary Lisa Nandy today that the government will wind down National Citizen Service and close the Trust | NCS

Since its inception, over 800,000 young people have taken part in NCS experiences, whether it be away from home, online or local community experience and has delivered in the region of 18 million volunteering hours. Over 80% of young people say that the experiences have given them a chance to develop skills that will be useful for the future, and 70% agreed that NCS builds their respect for diversity. They have an already established Youth Advisory Board that has played a pivotal role in ensuring the programme has evolved to address new challenges, such as the inclusion of the digital offer during Covid.

It is worth noting, NCS is for young people aged 15-17, whilst the new Youth Guarantee will cover age 18-21. In reality, the proportion of spending allocated to youth services for the under 18 group is likely to decrease. When you consider the background that the rate of young people classified as not in education, employment or training (NEET) has risen to 12.2% (ONS), an increase of a quarter of a million young people since 2021 this is disappointing. NCS has always been positioned to be accessible for young people regardless of background and financial standing and has a positive impact on providing young people the motivation, confidence and skills to support them into positive destinations.

Delivery of NCS through prime and subcontracted organisations and has included funding for c.250 youth organisations who now have no certainty over funding beyond March 2025. The impact on the core structure of youth services from the decision to close rather than repurpose NCS will be felt for some time, for VCSEs in particular.

Whilst NCS has had to adapt to the changing needs of young people, and was still on its own transformation path, closing the service feels to some extent like throwing the baby out with the political bath water. The foundation of developing core employability skills, learning about civic responsibility, and embracing inclusivity need to be preserved so we would hope that the new government include these in the core of the National Youth Strategy. Additionally, ensuring that it makes sufficient provision to include the needs of 16–17-year-olds as well as 18-21 year-olds, as after all Today’s Youth will be Tomorrow’s Nation.

This is a personal blog post.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusion or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Centre for the New Midlands or any of our associated organisations/individuals.

ABOUT OUR AUTHOR:

After eight years working in the third sector, Di created EmployabilityUK – an education charity. EmployabilityUK has an impressive track record with nine years of delivering first class employability skills to young people from all backgrounds. As a volunteer-led charity, EmployabilityUK was honoured to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021.

In her previous role, Di was responsible for developing Career Academies UK’s strategy and delivering the national programme. After building a team of regional managers and taking the programme to all parts of the UK she then went on to become Director of Business Development.

Di has more than 25 years of corporate business experience from BT and O2, including delivering BT’s education and community programmes. Di has held several volunteering roles including 6 years as a Special Constable with West Midlands Police. She has served on a number of boards and committees including EBP’s, University Business Schools, GBCCC and a multi-academy trust. Until recently Di was an independent Parish Councillor. Di’s commitment to advancing the opportunities for young people was recognised in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours, when she was awarded an MBE.