The government is making promises on jobs that only employers can keep. But Greene King has proved hiring the most hard-to-reach groups can make sound commercial sense, say Georgiana Bristol and Andrew Bush

Alan Milburn’s review, due later this month, is expected to give Britain a serious plan for the almost 1m young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). His youth guarantee is set to be delivered through local participation systems modelled on the Dutch “youth points”, tackling inactivity early and in person before a young person drifts onto benefits for good.

The weak point sits on the other side of the table, because a guarantee of a job, training place or apprenticeship is a promise the state can make and only employers can keep. The Netherlands has a NEET rate of 4.1 per cent against our 13.5 per cent, and its youth points work partly because there is an employer waiting at the end of the process. Without that hiring capacity, local hubs here risk becoming a kinder version of the referral queue young people already know.

The interim review estimated that each young person out of work costs £22,571 a year in lost tax and higher spending, while for every £25 Britain spends on benefits it spends £1 helping people into work. Less discussed is what it costs employers to leave this group untouched, which is why the case for business involvement rests on commercial logic as much as on conscience.

Hospitality shows what is possible, since for many people a pub is where they get their first job and build the confidence and skills that stay with them throughout their career. Greene King has supported more than 19,500 apprentices, and we know our apprentices stay longer, which allows us to keep investing in their development.

The same principle applies to often overlooked talent pools. Since our Releasing Potential programme began in 2019, 373 prison leavers have joined Greene King, and more than 150 people have gained a qualification through our Training Academies in four prisons. Terry, our longest serving team member from the programme was recruited initially into a kitchen role and is now a team leader. He’s been with Greene King for seven years, which shows that when companies invest in these types of programmes they do pay back in both loyalty and retention. 

Our Supported Internships, delivered with 12 specialist colleges, give young adults with learning disabilities workplace experience and the chance to develop practical and life skills. Olivia, who works front of house at the Red Lion in Todwick, now knows every skill the role requires, and her family has seen a significant improvement in her confidence.

None of this happens without sustained investment in training and in giving managers the time and support to help people succeed. That is not always easy when costs are rising, but widening access to employment helps businesses tackle skills shortages and hold on to staff.

The Jobs Foundation’s Ladders of Opportunity research found the same pattern in businesses with little else in common, from a water company in Devon to an engineering manufacturer in Rotherham: firms that hire and train people from their own communities end up with staff who stay for decades. Focaldata polling for the Jobs Foundation suggests 84 per cent of the public believe employers have a responsibility to help young people into work, while 85 per cent of managers and hirers say they are open to employing young people with little or no experience.

Corporate pledges are easy to sign and easy to forget. The Jobs Foundation Pledge, launched this month by our Employer Taskforce, asks businesses to evidence what they do on outreach, recruitment, skills and advancement, and accredits those that meet the standard. Its founding signatories include Amazon, M&S, Pret, NatWest and Shell, alongside Greene King.

Government can help in two ways. The first is bringing employers into the conversation from the outset, so that local youth programmes reflect the vacancies businesses actually have. Jobs Foundation research found that only 14 per cent of employers recruiting in 2022 had used a Jobcentre to do so.

The second is the cost of recruiting an inexperienced young person. Employer national insurance relief stops at 21 for most young workers, while rises in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage have added to wider employment costs. Reducing the cost of employing young people would pay dividends in job creation, and a Treasury reportedly preparing to fund local youth programmes upfront has every reason to want employers ready to take part.

Milburn is expected to set out how the state can find and support young people who have been written off. The job at the end of that process will almost always come from a business, and the best employers already have sound commercial reasons to provide it. The task now is to bring the rest of British business with them.

Georgiana Bristol is chief executive of the Jobs Foundation, and Andrew Bush is chief strategy & experience officer at Greene King