The NEET Crisis: What More Can Further Education Do to Support Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training?

In this article, Donna Hollick, Curriculum & Quality Consultant at FE Associates, explores the growing NEET crisis and considers what further education can do to support young people who are not in education, employment or training. She examines the particular challenges faced by late enrollers and sets out practical approaches to enrolment, induction, communication and monitoring that can help learners build positive habits, remain engaged and progress successfully into education, employment or training.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, published in May 2026, indicate that an estimated 1,012,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were NEET in January to March 2026. This represents an increase of 89,000 compared with the same period in 2025, and a rise of 55,000 from October to December 2025. In total, 13.5% of 16-to 24-year-olds were not in education, employment or training.

These figures are a serious cause for concern. As a sector, further education must consider what more it can do to support young people into education, employment and training. The increase of 55,000 between October to December 2025 and January to March 2026 raises an important question: could some of this growth be linked to students disengaging from college courses and leaving before completion? If so, it becomes even more important to consider how FE can improve engagement, strengthen retention and support learners to progress successfully.

Late enrolment and the September start
Many colleges keep enrolment open well into the autumn term, sometimes until October half term. That flexibility is important, because young people do not all arrive at the same point or for the same reason. Some have moved house. Some have been refused a school place. Others have tried another course or provider and found it was not the right fit. Some are anxious, unsure or simply not ready. Others have experienced disrupted education.
This group may be more likely to leave college before completing their course, as they begin at a disadvantage. They miss the crucial first week of detailed induction, introductory activities, peer-bonding opportunities and the important opening content of their course. FE providers should monitor these learners closely and adapt their support to improve retention, strengthen outcomes and reduce the risk of them becoming joining the increasing number of young people not in education, employment or training.

Building positive habits through FE
Early research by Maltz (1960) suggested that habits take 21 days to form. More recent research by Phillippa Lally and colleagues at University College London suggests that habit formation is often closer to 66 days, although simpler habits may be established more quickly. An article published in Nature Communications also suggests that habits may emerge suddenly rather than gradually, following a brief transition in decision-making as behaviour shifts from goal-directed to habitual.

This is relevant to FE because it suggests that, with the right support, young people can develop positive routines around attendance, punctuality, engagement and progression relatively quickly. The challenge for FE colleges is to help learners settle swiftly and establish the habits that support success.

What FE can do to support late starters
1. Enrolment
For most FE colleges, enrolment is a busy event involving support staff, academic staff and temporary staff, all working to create a smooth and welcoming experience. Considerable planning goes into making sure the process reflects the college well and gives new learners a positive first impression. Prospective learners often have the opportunity to speak with subject specialists and take part in a meaningful enrolment interview, helping them feel welcomed and excited about the year ahead.

For the many reasons a young person may arrive as a late applicant, they must receive a supportive and welcoming enrolment experience. Every part of the process matters, from the welcome on arrival to the waiting area, the time taken to be seen and the quality of communication they receive. This presents a challenge for FE colleges, because once main enrolment is complete, staff return to their usual roles and enrolment is fitted around day-to-day college operations. Colleges therefore need to plan carefully for late enrolment so that late applicants receive the same quality of experience before starting their course.

The welcome
Staff must be timetabled and available to have meaningful conversations with late applicants. If applicants are left waiting for long periods, the experience can feel discouraging and impersonal. For a young person who may already feel uncertain or anxious about starting college, delays can reduce confidence and leave them feeling undervalued.

The enrolment interview
Staff should be knowledgeable about the courses on offer and able to guide applicants towards a suitable programme. Late enrollers often find that their preferred course is full and no longer available, which can be disappointing. Staff should take time to understand the learner’s career aspirations, interests, and circumstances, and support them in choosing a course that meets their needs.

While colleges may have departmental enrolment targets, learners mustn’t be placed on inappropriate courses. Colleges in local areas could share information about vacancies and refer learners to one another when a course is not available. Although this may seem like losing a learner, another college may gain a suitable referral in return. The key priority is to place the young person on a programme that enables them to succeed and enjoy their education. It can also be helpful to have a duty careers adviser available for those who arrive unsure about their next steps.

It is also important to explore any barriers to study so that support can be put in place from the outset and communicated to teaching and support staff.

The learner agreement
At this stage, the young person must fully understand what they are signing up for and what their programme will involve. The learner agreement should be read, explained and signed at this point, with staff asking questions to check understanding.

2. Induction
Late applicants should not miss out on induction. They should attend a tailored induction session that explains expectations and welcomes them into college life.
Although it may not be practical to repeat the full standard induction programme, smaller late-entry groups can often be supported through a shorter, focused induction covering the key information they need, including timetables. If late applicants are sent directly into lessons without induction, they may miss important information and struggle to settle.
The key is to prepare to induct these learners in the same way as those who enrol before term starts. This will vary depending on the size of the college and the messages that need to be shared across different courses and levels. Some colleges may timetable department induction sessions during the first two weeks of term, followed by college-wide induction later, depending on demand.

No student should be sent to class without induction and a formal welcome. Without this, it is difficult to be confident that they understand expectations, and they may find it harder to build routine and confidence. Learners need to establish good habits that support their study. If those habits are embedded from the start, they are more likely to become the norm. When a learner enrols, they should be given their induction time, date and location immediately, ideally on a card to take away and followed by an email.

3. Communication
When a late applicant is enrolled, inform all teaching staff who will be working with the learner of their start date and any relevant support information, including declared needs.

This allows staff to plan seating, adapt lessons and help the learner feel welcome from the outset. A buddy system can also be valuable, pairing the new learner with someone already settled in the group.

Where a learner arrives and teaching staff are unaware, the classroom can feel unwelcoming. Staff may not know the student, may not have planned for missed learning and may be unaware of any support needs.

A timely one-to-one conversation with each teacher can help staff understand the learner’s needs and put a manageable catch-up plan in place, with regular review points. Positive feedback is also important. When learners meet expectations or achieve goals, praise and recognition can help reinforce those behaviours. Over time, this encouragement can support the development of routines and habits until they become normal practice.

4. Monitoring
Late applicants may be at greater risk of leaving before completing their course, so it is vital that teaching staff track them closely and monitor their progress from their starting point throughout the first term. Curriculum/Department managers should collectively review learners’ progress with the teaching staff and provide support where interventions are needed.

Many of these learners are also too late to take part in events such as “swap, not drop”, which often take place a few weeks into term. It is therefore important to have a contingency plan in place if a learner does not settle into their first-choice course.

A monitoring plan might include:
• Weekly progress reviews: review attendance, engagement, homework and any early concerns each week during the first term
• Pastoral contact: make sure the learner has a clear point of contact if they are struggling
• teaching staff feedback: ask staff to share concerns promptly if the learner is absent, late or not completing work
• Support plan tracking: review whether actions linked to additional needs or catch-up plans are being completed and whether they are having an impact
• Early intervention: act quickly if attendance drops, induction is missed, or the learner appears unsure about the course
• Review of course suitability: if the learner is not settling, consider whether the programme is right for them and whether a change of course or additional support is needed.

Conclusion
If further education is serious about reducing the number of late enrollers who become NEET, it must give careful attention to their needs. This begins with thorough preparation, planning and ensuring that sufficient staff are in place to support continuing enrolment effectively. In some cases, this may require hourly-paid or agency staff, which carries an additional cost. However, when viewed in the context of the funding attached to each learner, and the longer-term benefits of retention and progression after the 42 days, this investment is often justified.

In contrast, enrolling large numbers of learners without providing a welcoming experience, a thorough induction and effective ongoing support can be costly. Learners who leave 42 days generate lost funding and may have limited options remaining, increasing the risk that they become NEET. Those who disengage after that point may also become NEET or fail to achieve their intended outcome. Strong enrolment processes, purposeful induction, clear communication with teaching staff and regular monitoring can all help young people settle, stay engaged and progress successfully into education, employment or training. Careful planning is therefore essential so that the right support is in place from the outset.

References
• Maltz, M. (1960) Psycho-Cybernetics. New York: Prentice-Hall.
• Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W. and Wardle, J. (2010) ‘How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world’, European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), pp. 998-1009.
• Moore, S., Wang, Z., Zhu, Z., Wang, J., Sun, R., Lee, Y. A., Charles, A. and Kuchibhotla, K. V. (2026) ‘Revealing abrupt transitions from goal-directed to habitual behavior’, Nature Communications, 17, 4751.
• Office for National Statistics (2026) Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), UK: January to March 2026. London: ONS.

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