Police and Drugs
Opioid Crisis
What is stopping more young people from participating in workforce
Criminal records are a major and often under-recognised barrier to participation. Many young people with convictions face long-term consequences that go far beyond their sentence, including stigma, exclusion, and repeated rejection from employment, education pathways, and training opportunities. In practice, the impact of disclosure rules, employer hesitancy, and automatic screening processes can lead young people to avoid applying altogether due to fear of judgement or being turned away.
This creates a damaging cycle where individuals may be ready to re-engage and move forward, but are blocked by structural barriers that limit opportunity, reinforcing the risk of becoming or remaining NEET.
Young people become disengaged from employment, education or training for a range of interconnected reasons, and these challenges often overlap rather than appearing in isolation.
Criminal record is one of the reasons they give up. From my personal experience, I was going from interview to another and soon as the criminal record comes up the door is closed no questions asked.
I had previous work experience, also have diploma in IT diploma in psychology, diploma in mental health and counselling and a BA Honours in criminology and psychology and still I can’t get a job.
The interview always starts well everything looks promising when the criminal record comes out the door is closed. Even now my record is spent, well it makes no difference the doors are closed.
The only way to get a job is in academia but you must have a master’s or PhD which I do not have.
As a result, I feel as so many others that there is no future in the workforce and end up on benefits. Do I like it? No I rather have a job and have a life. Like I, young people may feel that the opportunities available to them are limited, unstable, or do not offer meaningful progression, which can weaken motivation and long-term engagement.
Health and wellbeing factors are also significant. Anxiety, depression, trauma-related experiences, and neurodiversity can create barriers to consistent participation, particularly when services are not designed in a supportive or trauma-informed way.
These issues are often made worse by housing instability, poverty, or insecure family environments, where maintaining a stable routine becomes difficult.
In such situations, young people may move between short-term work, periods of disengagement, and unmet support needs, which contributes to prolonged time spent outside employment, education or training.
What would make the biggest difference to support more young people to participate?
The biggest difference would come from removing key structural barriers while strengthening the practical and emotional support that enables young people to sustain participation. This requires a system that provides clear and credible pathways into real opportunities, particularly through accessible education routes, high-quality training, supported apprenticeships, and entry-level roles linked to progression.
Where young people can see a realistic future pathway and feel that outcomes are achievable, engagement becomes more likely and more sustainable.
Alongside improved pathways, addressing the impact of criminal records would represent one of the most significant and immediate changes to increase participation. Reforming criminal record disclosure practices to ensure they are proportionate, role-relevant, and do not create lifelong exclusion would remove a major barrier affecting many young people.
A fairer system would ensure that childhood mistakes do not result in long-term disadvantage, and that young people who are willing and able to contribute are not repeatedly shut out of employment, education, or training.
Supporting employers to adopt fair recruitment standards, reducing unnecessary criminal record checks, and improving clarity around what must be disclosed would further strengthen opportunities and reduce dropout.
In addition, young people are more likely to participate when support is consistent, relationship-based, and trauma-informed. This means services should be designed around helping young people sustain progress rather than sanctioning disengagement, particularly where mental health needs, trauma, unstable housing, or financial pressures play a role.
Practical support also makes a measurable difference, including help with travel costs, digital access, equipment, and stable accommodation, which can often be the difference between a young person starting a programme and being able to remain in it.
Overall, increasing participation requires a joined-up approach that combines opportunity with support, and fairness with long-term thinking. While many barriers contribute to young people becoming NEET, criminal records stand out as a structural and preventable barrier that can be addressed through reform.
For this reason, Fair Checks will submit evidence highlighting the link between criminal records and NEET outcomes, and will recommend criminal record reform as a key solution to reducing exclusion and expanding participation.
