CEC Youth Advisory Group met with Jacqui Smith, the Minister for Skills

On 26th January 2026, a small group of our Youth Advisory Group (YAG) met with Jacqui Smith, the Minister for Skills, to discuss the barriers faced by young women in accessing careers and skills education.

The young women shared their experiences and presented the Minister with the following letter outlining what more can be done to drive inclusive, high-quality careers education, information and guidance (CEIAG) for all young people and to forge connections between government commitments that resonate with young people.

Thanks to Isobel, Tanvir, Bea, Rabia, Ava, and Rylie, alongside our whole Youth Advisory Group, who help shape and drive our collective effort on careers education.

 

A thank you from female leaders on The ÌúÅ£ÊÓƵ & Enterprise Company (CEC) Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

Dear Jacqui,  

We were grateful for the opportunity to meet and talk to you about the Government’s ambition to translate young talent into opportunity, encapsulated within the National Youth Strategy. Our focus is on using modern, timely careers education to help break down barriers for young women most at risk of being left behind.

The strategy’s findings reflect much of our upbringings including the barriers articulated about isolation, confidence and lack of support. Among us, we have lived experience of first-generation entry to university, apprenticeships, and accessing education as young carers. We have diverse education backgrounds including in SEN and Alternative Provision schools, and for some of us, progression has been achieved despite risk of becoming NEET as well as setbacks related to mental health and financial hardship. Our collective experience makes us passionate and determined to use our role on the YAG to ensure that all young people – irrespective of background, can be afforded opportunity to have great careers support throughout their education. 

We welcome Government’s intention to embed youth voice at the heart of policy thinking on youth strategy and we wanted to use our meeting to share three thoughts on how Government might unlock real opportunity for young people currently in education who face barriers and need the most support. 

 

1. See the learner, not the number 
Early identification of young people at risk of disengagement is key to intervention and prevention. Whilst schools hold data on standardised metrics that highlight increased Risk of NEET status (i.e FSM, care leaver, persistent absence, SEND), there is currently no unified approach to enacting early identification and to intervene appropriately. Intervention needs to personalise support to an individual’s needs without isolating or stigmatising the learner. Early, because learners can slip quickly between cracks and fall behind at key transition points, especially those with mental health and other non-codified social barriers.

As referenced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we encourage the Department for Education to embed use of the DfE funded CEC Risk of NEET Indicator tool, OnTrack+, to all schools and as a foundation of prevention and early intervention. We recommend that the tool is highlighted in all related statutory and non-statutory guidance to schools.  

 

2. Break stereotypes early 
We must arrest and reverse harmful stereotypes that stunt aspiration in priority sectors. Girls and other underrepresented groups report lower confidence in essential skills and lower interest across in-demand occupations, disabling access to key sectors of our economy. Early and continuous employer-led careers learning, starting at Primary age is proven to tackle stereotypes and gender bias and to help broaden horizons. 

The Industrial Strategy and its accompanying sector plans offer opportunity to embed investment in careers outreach and skills pathways as a long-term strategic vision for job creation. Social value in procurement offers Government a powerful leaver to incentivise business to invest in workforce development through modern work experience to help build skills, hone career choices and widen access to apprenticeship and technical pathways.

 

3. Inclusive enrichment by design
ÌúÅ£ÊÓƵ education and enrichment are two sides of the same coin. ÌúÅ£ÊÓƵ sits at the intersection of education, employability and personal growth; attributes that help prepare young people for work and life. Our responsibilities as carers and volunteers have shown us how enrichment activities in tandem with careers support, offer foundations to build confidence and skills development in key areas such as teamwork, problem-solving and resilience. 

The Youth Strategy quite rightly reinforces how the careers infrastructure lends itself efficiently and coherently to plans for expanding focus on enrichment. We encourage alignment to ensure all young people, no matter what their socioeconomic background, can gain access to enrichment activities throughout their education and before disengagement happens.  

Our priority is to support your efforts to build a modern, dynamic skills system across all parts of the country. We stand ready to support the brilliant work already underway and as part of the Government’s investment in skills and education. 

Yours sincerely,

Rylie Sweeney, Non- Exec Youth board member CEC 
Ava, Member of CEC Youth Advisory group
Bea, Member of CEC Youth Advisory group
Isobel, Member of CEC Youth Advisory group
Rabia, Member of CEC Youth Advisory group
Tanvir, Member of CEC Youth Advisory group 

On behalf of the CEC Youth Advisory Group