'I'm a lot more prepared after doing work experience'

An 18-year-old ready to embark on an apprenticeship said work experience has helped him widen his comfort zone and prepare for the world of work.

Aaron Smyth undertook a placement at the shop Love Downham in Downham Market, Norfolk, before taking on a voluntary role.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 957,000 people aged between 16 and 24 in the UK who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in October to December 2025.

He said: "Work experience is very, very helpful... It's really good to give you the skills you need to get into the workplace, develop your character and learn more about yourself as a person."

Smyth has been studying a computing level 3 BTEC course at the College of West Anglia in King's Lynn and is due to finish his exams in the summer before making the move to London.

When he first started coming to the Swann Youth Project, he said he was "really nervous" and lacked confidence.

However, working at the shop has helped him feel part of the community, help people, socialise and widen his comfort zone.

He said: "I've found myself a lot more. Time working in the shop is time away from my phone... work placements and voluntary positions where you're not on your phone as much have very good benefits for you socially as well as mentally."

He continued: "A few months ago, I didn't think I was that ready... I feel I'm a lot more prepared to go into the world of work. I know what my next step is, which I'm really happy about."

The Swann Youth Project aims to give young people voluntary opportunities and help them along the way with CV writing, confidence building and face-to-face experience.

Chief executive Anna Foster said: "A lot of the time, young people don't get the opportunity to do work experience — I think it's really hard for young people to get a job these days.

"Lots of young people have still been so affected by the Covid pandemic, lost confidence, don't really go out to groups and clubs, so don't have those social interactions, maybe they would have."

Through offering work experience opportunities, she said Smyth had "blossomed" and had been a "shy, quiet young man" when he first started.

A young person is considered a NEET if they are unemployed but looking for work, economically inactive and not actively looking for work, and not waiting to start a job or caring for family.

Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, described the issue of youth unemployment as "deep-rooted" and said it had risen in the years before Labour entered office.

Previously speaking about government plans to launch a £2.5bn three-year "New Deal for Young People" which aims to support nearly one million people, creating up to 500,000 education, training, and employment opportunities to reverse rising youth unemployment he said: "These measures will give life-changing opportunities to young people and significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training.

"We are focusing funding where it's needed most and giving employers the flexibility and support they've asked for.

"These reforms will give young people a vital first step on the career ladder and help business leaders recruit the talent that will grow their companies."

Claire McIntosh, CEO of the Norfolk Community Foundation, said young people between 16 and 24 not in education or employment are described as the "lost generation".

She said: "It's trying to unpick what challenges those young people are facing.

"What we're trying to do is working with local charities and communities to build skills and confidence where young people live... they can start to make applications for jobs and imagine a different future than the one that they are facing now in reality."

She said some young people who fall through the net are those not in formal education and those lacking in confidence who do not speak up.

McIntosh said the Norfolk Community Foundation needs more funding to be able to help more people.

She said: "Another six months, another year — a lot changes in a young person's life. A lot of confidence is eroded.

"The idea of leaving a group of young people just lost without confidence and hope is too big a challenge for us," she said.

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