Workplace Wellbeing Roundtable Highlights Need for More Opportunities for Young Workers
Business leaders, employment experts and workplace wellbeing advocates are calling on employers to place greater emphasis on potential, adaptability and human skills when recruiting, arguing that such a shift is essential to tackling the growing youth employment crisis in the United Kingdom.
The issue was the focus of a recent roundtable hosted by the Policy Liaison Group (PLG) on Workplace Wellbeing on July 8, where participants examined the challenges facing more than one million young people currently classified as not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Held shortly after the publication of Sir Alan Milburn’s interim report on youth opportunity, the discussion explored how businesses can help improve access to employment for young people while adapting to a labour market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and changing workplace expectations.
Experts Call for a Shift in Recruitment Practices
Participants agreed that employers should move beyond traditional recruitment models that heavily favour previous experience and formal qualifications. Instead, they argued that hiring decisions should increasingly focus on a candidate’s potential, willingness to learn and transferable skills.
The roundtable identified several priorities, including creating more opportunities for meaningful workplace experience, placing greater value on communication and adaptability, supporting managers as workplace coaches, and ensuring employers receive the assistance needed to help young people overcome barriers to employment.
According to attendees, many employers have become more cautious in their hiring decisions due to economic uncertainty and tighter operating margins. Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, often favour experienced candidates who are perceived as lower-risk hires.
However, participants noted that this approach can unintentionally limit opportunities for younger workers attempting to enter the labour market for the first time.
AI Reshaping Traditional Entry-Level Pathways
A key topic during the discussion was the growing influence of artificial intelligence on workplace recruitment and development.
Historically, many young workers gained their first professional experience through routine administrative and technical roles. However, experts warned that automation is increasingly reducing the number of these traditional entry-level opportunities.
As AI assumes responsibility for repetitive tasks, employers are placing greater value on skills that technology cannot easily replicate, including communication, creativity, curiosity, emotional intelligence and adaptability.
Roundtable participants argued that these human-centred capabilities should play a more prominent role in recruitment decisions, helping employers identify candidates with long-term potential rather than simply evaluating previous experience.
Building Confidence Through Meaningful Work Experience
Attendees also highlighted the importance of workplace confidence and capability, suggesting that these qualities are often developed through practical experience rather than being present from the outset.
Lauren Mistry of Youth Employment UK and Helen Tupper, CEO and co-founder of Amazing If, stressed that employers should create more accessible pathways into work, allowing young people to develop professional habits and workplace skills over time.
The discussion suggested that rigid hiring requirements can discourage capable candidates from applying, particularly those who lack formal experience but possess strong potential.
Participants further argued that managers should be equipped to serve as mentors and coaches, helping new employees navigate challenges and build confidence during the early stages of their careers.
Employers Seen as Gatekeepers to Opportunity
The roundtable concluded that employers remain central to addressing the youth employment challenge because they ultimately determine who receives opportunities to enter the workforce.
Gethin Nadin, Chair of the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing, said:
“This is not a crisis of young people’s ambition. Employers have a crucial role to play. They decide whether potential matters as much as experience, and whether recruitment processes open doors or quietly close them. Ultimately, the question of who gets that first opportunity rests with them. If every employer offered just one meaningful work experience opportunity, we could create millions more chances for young people to gain confidence, build skills and take their first step into work.”
Lauren Mistry, Director of Youth Employment UK, said:
“We are at risk of mistaking low confidence and low participation for low motivation to work. Young people want independence, stability, fair pay, development and purpose, but many simply cannot see those things in work at the moment. If we want to tackle the NEET crisis, we need to create more opportunities for young people to gain meaningful experience of work and see a future for themselves in it.”
Helen Tupper, CEO and Co-Founder of Amazing If, added:
“We cannot just tell young people to own their career. Confidence, understanding your strengths and being able to transfer your talents are skills that need to be developed. Managers also have an important role to play. Rather than acting as the ‘yes or no’ gateway to growth, they need to be coaches who help young people navigate different experiences, opportunities and career paths.”
Collective Action Could Expand Opportunities
Participants agreed that even modest commitments from employers could have a significant impact. They suggested that if more businesses offered a single work experience placement, apprenticeship or entry-level opportunity, the cumulative effect could create millions of additional pathways into employment.
As policymakers and employers continue to examine solutions to the youth employment challenge, the roundtable highlighted a growing consensus that future workforce success will depend less on prior experience and more on recognising and developing human potential.
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