Sheffield Council commits to action on number of people not in employment or education
In 2025, some 788 Sheffielders aged 16 and 17 were recorded as not in education, employment or training – 7.7 per cent of the age group
Sheffield has joined a new national taskforce aimed at tackling the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
The city is among nearly 90 local authorities signing up to the scheme, which will bring together councils, schools, colleges, employers, health services and community organisations to try to get more young people into work or training.
It comes after figures showed Sheffield has one of the highest rates in England of 16 and 17-year-olds classed as NEET (not in education, employment or training).
In 2025, some 788 Sheffielders aged 16 and 17 were recorded as not in education, employment or training – 7.7 per cent of the age group.
That was the 11th highest rate among local authorities in England, compared with 5.6 per cent nationally.
A further 214 young people had an activity status recorded as "not known", taking the combined figure to 1,002.
Now Sheffield is one of 13 authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber joining the new NEET Taskforce, alongside Barnsley, Doncaster, Leeds, Rotherham and Wakefield.
The taskforces have been set up by Alan Milburn, the Government's NEET tsar, as part of efforts to tackle a crisis which has seen almost one million young people across the UK out of work, education and training.
Councils joining the scheme have committed to work for at least 18 months to bring local organisations together and create plans to reduce the number of young people becoming NEET.
They will also set targets for improving participation among 16 to 24-year-olds and agree practical measures that can be put in place locally.
Mr Milburn said: "Nobody knows a community like the people who serve it. That's why so many councils are stepping up now to grip the NEET crisis on their own doorsteps.
"What I have seen today is great examples of local authorities bringing schools, employers, the NHS and the voluntary sector round the same table to ensure they have plans in place to reduce the number of young people who are NEET in their areas.
"More than that. They are taking action to get the NEET rate down because no young person should be left behind, and no community should be left waiting for Whitehall to act."
Sheffield City Council has already been working on its own plan to reduce the number of young people becoming NEET.
Its action plan focuses on identifying young people earlier, improving confidence and wellbeing, providing more flexible routes into education and employment and tackling practical barriers including transport.
The council previously said becoming NEET was "rarely the result of a single issue", with young people identifying poor mental health, low confidence, limited qualifications, negative experiences of education or work and a lack of suitable provision among the barriers they face.
The latest figures show 16.3 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds in Yorkshire and the Humber were NEET between January and March 2026, compared with 13 per cent across the UK in the April to June period.
The Government has warned the national number could rise by around 25 per cent over the next five years to more than 1.25 million without action.