Latest official data suggests 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training (Neet) between April and June 2026, representing a 3% rise in over the same period this year.
It means about one in eight young people in the UK are currently out of work, education or training. While the causes behind this increase are varied, at Stratford Town Trust, we recognise the wide-reaching impact of this youth unemployment crisis. As a result, in 2025, we provided support to four organisations who are helping young people who are Neet in Stratford-upon-Avon to access education, training, or support to find a job or an apprenticeship.
One of these was Sport 4 Life UK who we awarded a grant of £2,000. Sport 4 Life UK believe in giving young people the opportunity to create a better future for themselves. In Stratford-upon-Avon they aim to increase the employability potential of young people by providing Functional Skills Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications in both English and maths for those who may not have achieved the grade they wanted in their GCSEs.
Since the project began, Level Up has engaged 17 young people from Stratford who were not in education, employment or training. Each learner was supported to work towards a recognised English or Maths qualification, with the aim of building the confidence and skills they need to take their next step.
As a result, five learners have already achieved a qualification, between them gaining seven qualifications in total. Three of these were Functional Skills qualifications and four were skills-based awards, and two learners achieved more than one qualification each, a real testament to their commitment once they found the right support to succeed.
“For young people who began this programme furthest from the job market, this is exactly the kind of tangible, life changing outcome that your grant was designed to achieve, and it gives us real confidence in the model we have built.”
Mark Clews, Partnership Funding Officer at Sport4LifE UK
A further ten learners remain actively enrolled and working towards completion. Taken together, 15 of Sport4Life’s 17 learners, 88 per cent, have either achieved a qualification or are continuing to progress towards one. Perhaps most encouragingly, 60 per cent of those who have completed their qualification have already progressed into education, employment or training.
Level Up has shown that with the right, focused support, young people who are Neet in Stratford can and do achieve qualifications and move on into positive destinations.