Written evidence submitted by the Muslim Council of Britain (YEET0178)

About the Muslim Council of Britain:

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), founded in 1997, is an inclusive umbrella body of over 500 mosques, charities, professional networks and more, representing a large cross-section of Muslims in the UK today. We are pledged to work for the common good of society as a whole, encouraging individual Muslims and Muslim-led organisations to play a full and participatory role in public life. Our longstanding vision is to empower Muslim communities to achieve a just, cohesive and successful British society.

As part of MCB’s Vision 2050, we are taking that commitment even further with three goals:

●        Unite: We are dedicated to forging a shared sense of purpose among British Muslims, encouraging collaboration and community building while respecting our diverse perspectives.

●        Inspire: We aim to empower our communities by fostering innovation, developing skills, and creating opportunities in every sector—from healthcare and technology to education and civic engagement.

●        Serve: We commit to uplifting not only Muslim communities but also the wider British society, working together to build a just, cohesive, and successful future for all.

Background: Muslims in the UK

According to the most recent 2021 Census data approximately 6.5% of Britons identify as Muslims[1] compared to 4.8% in 2011. Muslims are the second largest faith group in the UK after Christians, and there are more Muslims than all other minority faith groups combined. The vast majority of British Muslims are from an ethnic minority background, with the black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) population in 2021 standing at 18% of the overall population, up from 14% in 2011.

Compared to the overall population, British Muslims are on average younger. Almost 50% of British Muslims were aged 24 years old or younger, compared to 33% in the overall population[2]. Looking ahead in the next decade, an increasing proportion of British Muslims are now second, third or fourth generation, completing their education (circa 1 in 5 British Muslim adults aged 16+ years old are in full-time education) and entering the workforce for the first time, thereby contributing to the UK’s economic recovery and vibrancy, whilst supporting an increasingly ageing overall population.

However, this also means British Muslims, most of whom are BAME, form a significant fraction of the young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), which according to the ONS is 946,000 in the period July to September 2025[3] and which is a 50% increase compared to 5 years ago[4]. Furthermore, a May 2025 briefing from the venture philanthropy charity Impetus entitled Youth Jobs Gap[5] found that “young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) than their better-off peers.”

(A) Young people who are NEET

1. What factors lead to a young person not being in education, employment or training (NEET)? Are there some young people who are more likely to be NEET than others?
2. What are the long-term consequences for young people who are NEET for an extended period?
3. Would it be useful for the Government to set specific goals or target relating to the number or proportion of young people who are NEET? What might such a target be?

AI job losses - The cull in entry-level jobs due to Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, especially in large companies, is a serious concern with evidence already suggesting that such losses in the UK are twice the international average[6]. Companies are incentivised to achieve short-term productivity gains by eliminating entry-level jobs through mass AI adoption, yet there is no incentive for them to protect or preserve a pipeline of entry-level jobs suitable for young people, as may be the case for other sectors or job types. As early as March 2024 innovative solutions have been proposed, such as the “job-centric industrial strategy for AI” suggested by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)[7].

Career Advisors and Guidance - In many deprived areas, there is a lack of access to adequate careers advice and guidance at secondary schools and/or FE colleges to support young people make well-informed decisions regarding careers or further study (vocational or academic). Analysis by the Muslim Council of Britain[8] indicates that in 2021, 40% of the Muslim population in England reside in the most deprived fifth of Local Authority districts; and furthermore, almost half a million more Muslims now live in these most deprived locales than in 2011.

The role of career advisors and guidance in helping young people make good career decisions cannot be under-estimated, to avoid over-reliance on informal sources such as family perspectives which are not always reliable.  However, lack of awareness for many young people in schools or colleges on the opportunities available to them, in particular around apprenticeships or T-Levels, is often compounded by careers advisors often not being fully informed themselves and/or biased towards university degrees.

Whilst online / national services like the Government’s National Careers Service[9] (for England) are noble efforts, there is a lack of penetration and take up of such services in many communities, and it should not be viewed as a replacement for in-person careers guidance at secondary schools or FE colleges.

Work Experience Opportunities - The single greatest need for many young people to initially get on the career ladder is securing early work experience to show on their CV that they have “real world” experience. However, offering such work experience opportunities are becoming an increasingly lower priority for many employers, who are facing so many other pressures to keep their businesses operational and profitable.

This is particularly relevant given the post-pandemic shift towards hybrid office and work from home settings, which make it more challenging for some employers to offer such work experience to young people. This is highlighted by an Ofsted independent review of careers guidance[10] which stated “long-term changes in working practices, such as increased home working, mean that some employers have now stopped offering work experience. Schools and FE and skills providers are finding it difficult to find alternative placements. Some schools have still not restarted work experience after the pandemic.” There is also a gap in awareness and “know how” in offering such opportunities.

The Gatsby Foundation’s 2025 report[11] highlights that “Our work has shown that we need more employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to offer experiences of workplaces. Employers need to be supported to understand the variety of experiences they can offer and to move away from the misconception that experiences are limited to blocks of one or two weeks.”

Impacts of long-term unemployment for young people - According to Alan Milburn, chair of the government’s Young People and Work review, “Forty-five per cent of 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training have never had a job. If you haven’t had a job by 24, that entails a long-term scarring effect and you’re probably then stuck in a lifetime on benefits.”[12] It goes without saying, aside from financial stability, lack of employment for young people can have a significant negative impact on their emotional and mental well-being. For example, many across BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities, getting married is often seen by families as safer once financial stability is achieved i.e. when the young person has secured their first job.

More widely, history has shown that large youth unemployment carries significant risks to a country’s social and political stability. Disenfranchised people of all ages are more likely to turn to populist political parties or movements that thrive off simplistic narratives around migrants and lack of jobs, affordable housing and public services. In the racist and Islamophobic summer riots that engulfed parts of the UK in 2024, a notable proportion of those charged with violent disorder and other offences were young people[13].

Accessing Apprenticeship Opportunities - Despite the recent announcement of introducing a ‘clearing service’ for apprenticeships[14] there is still no central portal for young people to apply for apprenticeships - in the same way as UCAS for university applications - is a significant barrier for young people accessing apprenticeships. The UCAS website lumps the apprenticeship search function[15] with a more general finding jobs section, rather than on-par with searching for a university degree. Furthermore, the introduction of degree apprenticeship was a significant positive step. Yet without a central applications portal, the route to accessing degree apprenticeships is significantly harder, with few young people at school leaver age familiar with preparing a strong CV/covering letter and interview / assessment centres, compared to the comparatively more streamlined and friendly UCAS personal statement route.

Lack of role models from BAME communities undertaking apprenticeships also make such opportunities appear more distant. Through grassroots community work by organisations like the Association of Muslim Engineers[16] numerous examples have been encountered where the young person was the first in their family or friendship network who decided to pursue an apprenticeship. By contrast, in many socio-economically deprived communities, there is often a positive image associated with the son or daughter being the “first” in the family to go to university and may get pressure from family, friends or schools in this regard, but the same positive image around securing a place on an apprenticeship scheme is not there. Simple outputs like promoting case studies of apprentices from BAME backgrounds helps provide role models to aspire to, for example basic blogs by the employer such as Observing Ramadan as a Cyber Security Apprentice at HMRC.[17]

(B) Preventing young people from becoming NEET

4. How can the Government, and the DWP, help to prevent young people becoming NEET in the first place?
5. Are there any examples of Government-funded interventions designed to prevent young people becoming NEET that have been particularly effective? What evidence do we have of where funding has been allocated and the effectiveness of different programmes?

Ofsted assessment of Career Advisory services - The Gatsby Foundation’s 2025 report[18] recommends that Ofsted inspection findings reporting for the quality of careers guidance is extended to secondary schools (currently it is only required for FE colleges), as well as making such reporting more prominent. We would go further and recommend that the weight given to careers guidance within the Ofsted inspection framework is increased, in order to incentivise schools and colleges to prioritise this aspect of their services and not consider it an after thought.

Career Hubs Integrated with Communities - Career Hubs have been introduced in England with over 92% of schools and colleges being part of a local career hub according to the Careers & Enterprise Company[19]. Whilst the focus of the Career Hubs on the quality of engagements by Teacher and Employer in schools and FE colleagues is welcome, community-based career interventions - such as at places of worship and/or community centres - also have significant impact potential in reaching disadvantaged young people who need the support the most.

For example, many British Muslim community organisations like mosques, youth groups and the Association of Muslim Schools are taking the initiative to organise career fairs and similar engagement events with dozens of employers holding stalls and sessions at local mosque or community centres[20] [21] [22], but often there is little to no engagement with the existing resources available at local Career Hubs.

It is noted that the Gatsby Foundation’s 2025 report[23] recommends that “The role of careers hubs could be expanded to improve the volume, quality and coordination of experiences of workplaces.”

Structural barriers - Numerous studies have identified structural barriers to British Muslims accessing the job market, from the ENAR Forgotten Women: The impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women in the United Kingdom[24], to Elevation Network highlighting employment inequalities[25] and recent Muslim Youth Futures report[26] with such studies making numerous recommendations to address these challenges.

Trend Monitoring - Specifically regarding apprenticeships, increasing apprenticeships for people from BME (Black, Minority Ethnic) backgrounds by 20% by 2020 was a target announced by David Cameron during the 2015 general election. However, once in government, the inter-ministerial group to track progress towards the 2020 targets, led by Sajid Javid, did not include specific ethnic or religious categories, according to a report by a House of Commons select committee[27]. Without appropriate tracking of targets, such promises will always remain empty.  Furthermore, the Government’s response[28] to the aforementioned select committee’s report later in 2016, specifically Recommendation 12 (Parents and students should be given sufficient information to make fully informed choices about future career and education choices which take into account alternative choices, including apprenticeships) focused largely on university education and failed to even address apprenticeships, highlighting a complete lack of understanding of the importance of promoting apprenticeships within BAME communities.

(C) Support for young people who are NEET

6. How well supported are young people as they move from school to college and into education? What impact might the transfer of apprenticeships and Skills to DWP for people aged 20+ have on these transitions?
7. What is the most effective way of delivering support to young people who are NEET? Are there any initiatives that can be learned from, domestically or internationally?
8. How can and should DWP support young people who are not in contact with the benefit system?
9. What barriers or disincentives prevent young people from taking up, or completing, apprenticeships?
10. What barriers are there to employers offering and targeting apprenticeships at young people? How effectively will the Government's current approach address these?
11. How can apprenticeships and other forms of training offered by DWP, e.g. Skills Bootcamps or the sector-based work academy programme, be best utilised to support young people?
12. How does support for young people who are NEET differ between the UK's four nations? How might the transfer of Skills to DWP impact the delivery of support for young people across the UK?

(D) Employment and the labour market

13. What are the main barriers to employers supporting young people into employment and how can the Government better work with employers to address these?
14. How well is support for young people tailored to local labour market conditions and how can this be improved?
15. What impact may developments in technologies, such as AI, have on the employment of young people? How should Government respond?
16. How can employers be encouraged to invest in Skills training?

Workforce Investment Programmes - Rather than tinkering at the edges, real and ambitious teamwork between industry/employment, Government, education and national careers service sectors is needed with clear recruitment and retention targets for priority areas of labour market demand. China’s ambitious Vocational Skills Training Initiative (2025–2027)[29] programme, including the specific “1 Million Youth Upskilling Campaign” offers numerous lessons that the UK can learn from, including:

●         Training programmes being are prioritised in core industry clusters

●         Industrial parks and economic development zones are being transformed into talent hubs, offering training facilities, employee certification subsidies

●         Integrating labor policy with industrial upgrading goals — including Made in China 2025, rural revitalization, and digital economy development

Apprenticeship Scheme reform - The replacement of the Apprenticeship Levy with the more flexible Growth and Skills Levy is welcome, but urgent focus is needed to ensure it delivers and avoids perverse outcomes such as a reduction in apprenticeship start rates for 19-24 year olds of 15% between 2017/18 and 2023/24 as highlighted by the Trade Union Congress (TUC)[30]. The Sutton Trust’s “World of Difference” 2025 report[31] also highlighted that the UK’s apprenticeship programmes lag behind those in European neighbours like Germany and Austria, for example we have a much higher drop-out rate with only 60% of apprentices completing their programme.

Centralised Apprenticeships Portal - Creating a streamlined portal for apprenticeships in the same way as UCAS for university degrees. It can be very difficult and daunting for young school leavers to apply to large employers, even with expert careers advice and support (which isn’t always available) and the administration that goes into these applications (e.g. CVs, covering letter and/or bespoke company application form questionnaires, online competency tests, first stage video interviews etc).

Reversing Youth Services Cuts - Young people do not exist in a vacuum, rather the prolonged and deep cuts to youth service provision like youth clubs and centres impacts the informal and societal support structures that help young people access employment. Between 2010 and 2023, the number of publicly-funded youth clubs in England and Wales reduced from 1,824 to just 581 (i.e. over two-thirds reduction), resulting in 1,536 qualified youth worker jobs lost, according to research by Unison[32].

Community Partnerships - Career Service providers can significantly multiply their impact by partnering with genuine grassroots community organisations in socio-economically disadvantaged communities to co-create work experience opportunities and better utilise Career Hubs (e.g. CV feedback, mock interviews) e.g. Construction Youth Trust (CYT), Association for Black & Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) or Consortium of Muslim Professional Networks.

AI safeguards - The full economic and social impact, including on ‘entry-level’ jobs in the labour market, is still emerging and rapid research and analysis must continue. However, just as its impact is radical, the response to prevent catastrophic job losses must also be radical. For instance, a ‘robot tax’ on large companies which use artificial intelligence to replace workers has been proposed by MP for Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan[33], as well as in the United States as far back as 2023 by Senator Bernie Sanders[34]. Global co-ordination would maximise effectiveness of such schemes e.g. “International AI Safety Agency”, similar to the IAEA for nuclear technology, proposed by PauseAI.[35]

Fair funding deals for training providers - for example through expired levy funds being ring-fenced for the purposes of supporting future apprenticeships and funding caps tracking inflation rates. These points were raised by Muslims in Rail in a consultation response to the DfT’s Labour Market & Skills inquiry.[36]

February 2026