Why Print and Packaging Must Act on the UK’s Youth Employment Crisis

In response to the youth unemployment crisis, the UK Government commissioned an independent review to try to diagnose its causes. When its findings were eventually released in the form of a 217-page report, it shocked the nation.

The Young People and Work: Interim Report found that worklessness among those aged 16-24 is high and rising, highlighting the risk of creating a “lost generation” without urgent action.

Print and packaging, like every industry, has its part to play in addressing this crisis. For our sector, though, the problem is particularly acute. We are already seeing the workforce ‘grey out’ as experienced operators retire without being replaced by younger talent. The talent is out there, but they have no easily accessible pathway into this industry.

This needs to change – not just for the country, and not even just for print and packaging, but for the million young people that the system is currently failing.

What the Young People and Work Review says

To briefly sum up the key findings, the report highlights a “record of failure” that has created a worsening picture for young jobseekers.

Crucially, it takes pains to distance itself from the stereotype that this generation of young people is uniquely lazy and coddled. It isn’t. They do want to work, but the pathways that previous generations had into the labour market are crumbling.

At the end of 2025, almost a million people aged 16-24 were not in employment, education, or training (NEET) – around one in eight young people. ONS data shows that this number is already outdated, and it has now surpassed the 1 million mark. 6 in 10 of these young people have never had a job, and almost 60% are no longer looking for work.

It notes that growing fault lines around wealth, income, and geographical inequalities are some of the main barriers keeping young people from work. The three issues are often linked, with deprived areas acting “not as a backdrop but as a multiplier”. In other words, a young person in Bradford, where more than 8% are NEET, has much worse prospects than a similar person in Guildford, where less than 1% are NEET.

Local job markets, services, and support systems vary across the country, with transport being presented as a major regional barrier. Cuts to public transport have disproportionately affected rural, coastal, and former industrial areas, where NEET rates are generally higher. In contrast, London – the region with the lowest NEET rate in England – has free or discounted travel for young people.

While there is a second part to come consisting of recommendations, it paints a bleak picture of the UK’s future – one that is estimated to cost the economy £125bn each year.

What these findings mean for print and packaging

The report is not print and packaging specific, but it is packed with insights that the industry can build on. Like every industry, print and packaging has to make some structural changes to better support young people into the workforce. Simply creating more entry-level roles is not enough when the route into those jobs is broken. As a result, the UK’s large pool of young talent is ebbing away at a time when technical, manufacturing, and sustainability-led roles need to tap into it.

1.       Stopping the slide from unemployment to inactivity

NEET young people are now more likely to be economically inactive than unemployed, at 57% versus 43%. The share of those inactive due to sickness or disability has risen from 11% in 2005 to 28% today. Over 61.6% of NEET young people have never had a job, compared with 42% 20 years ago.

Solving this requires active routes into work through taster sessions, placements, pre-apprenticeship programmes, and stronger links with the higher education sector. More than that, these initiatives need to be carefully considered and consistently supported. Throwing a NEET person onto the production floor from day one is not ideal, but more structured roles in prepress, colour management, design, or finishing are likely more suitable.

In short, employers need to provide pathways into the industry, but they also need to actively maintain and support them. This will help safeguard the future of the industry by strengthening the talent pipeline, ensuring businesses can replace experienced operators who retire.

2.       Make print and packaging visible

Print and packaging surround us and impact every aspect of our daily lives. Despite that, the industry suffers from a lack of visibility as a genuine career option. Many young people may not know the sector exists outside of a vague extension of factory manufacturing, and may never realise the many exciting career pathways that it offers, from digital print to material science, colour control, design, sustainable manufacturing, engineering, and more.

The Young People and Work Review shows that blaming this lack of awareness on low attainment is wrong. In 2024/25, 40% of NEET young people had qualifications of A level

or above. Educational attainment isn’t the problem – exposure to the industry is.

3.       Apprenticeships must be more accessible

The report says young people once made up one in seven workers. Now, it is closer to one in nine. At the turn of the century, youth employment rates were at 63%. Now, they are barely 50%.

In print and packaging, employers must bear in mind that many young people have only had limited exposure to the world of work, and the soft skills that an experienced operator takes for granted – shift discipline, timekeeping, handling feedback, safety awareness, and so on – may not be things that young jobseekers have had the chance to develop.

It’s worth highlighting that Covid hugely impacted this generation’s formative years. Many will have had to attend school or college remotely, and those who are in their early 20s today may have left higher education just after the country went into lockdown.

Apprenticeships are key to overcoming this hurdle, giving young people the skills, guidance, and experience that they have been starved of. Yet apprenticeship starts for 16 to 24-year-olds have fallen by 35% since the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017, as the economics now favour upskilling existing employees.

The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) has called for an overhaul of the

apprenticeship system, including more flexible funding, more employer-led standards, more employer involvement in career guidance, and more. It specifically cites print and packaging examples like colour management as an area where modular training can be beneficial. Much of this is outside the industry’s direct control, but it should use its voice and influence to drive meaningful change. This is at the heart of YPIPP’s mission.

Breaking down barriers to work

Print and packaging companies can’t solve this on their own. But rethinking early-career recruitment and placing more emphasis on nurturing the next generation of talent will go a long way towards securing the industry’s future.

No, the employers can’t dictate government schemes and economic incentives, which may or may not come following the publication of the second report. Nor can it address many of the structural issues in society that have led to this crisis. But they can work together to develop a robust, cross-industry plan alongside trade bodies that incorporates practical assessments, site visits, trial shifts, community outreach, structured mentoring, and more.

Something as simple as an employer travel scheme, which would provide free bus passes to apprentices or young employees, or simply being aware of public transport times when planning shifts, would go a long way towards breaking down the barriers currently keeping young people out of the industry.

This is a real problem that needs real, practical solutions. The Young People and Work report provides valuable insights, but it’s up to print and packaging companies to act on them.

At YPIPP, we’re here to support you in nurturing the next generation of print and packaging professionals. To learn more about what we can do, get in touch with our team today.