A life worth living: young people deserve more than a place in the labour market.

As we await Alan Milburn’s final report on young people who are not in education, employment or training, our CEO, Andrea Cooper, has been thinking about what we choose to value and what we risk missing.

Milburn’s interim report rightly points to “whole system failure”. Too many young people are being failed by fragmented systems across education, health, welfare and employment. Reform is urgently needed.

But if we judge success only by whether a young person is in education or work, we risk settling for too narrow a vision of what their life can be.

Employment matters enormously. Good work can bring income, stability, routine, connection, esteem and contribution. But being in work is not the same as flourishing.

Young people also need joy, belonging, self-knowledge and the chance to discover what makes them feel alive. They need space to explore, try things, fail safely, find strengths, build confidence and imagine a future that feels true to them.

This matters even more in an AI-shaped world. The young people most likely to thrive will not simply be those who can use technology well, but those who know themselves, understand what matters to them, and can use powerful tools with purpose, judgement and care.

We do need serious reform of the broken architecture around young people. And alongside that, we need to protect the spaces where young people can have fun, belong, discover their strengths, find purpose and live lives that feel true to themselves.

A good life is not made by employment alone.

Read more here.