AQW 52447/22-27
Ms Sian Mulholland
Alliance Party
North Antrim
Tabled Date: 18/09/2026
Answered On Date: 28/09/2026
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail how the Careers Action Plan 2025–2028 will ensure that, each young person identified as being at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training, has a named point of contact and a completed handover into (i) education; (ii) training; (iii) employment; and (iv) appropriate specialist support.
Answer:
The Careers Action Plan 2025-2028, published jointly by the Department for the Economy and Department of Education, does not contain an action to specifically identify named contacts for young people at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET). However, the Action Plan does seek to improve careers provision and progression outcomes through earlier intervention, stronger partnership working and more coordinated support. It includes a range of actions intended to support young people facing barriers to progression and strengthen the arrangements that help them move successfully into further education, training or employment. A number of test-and-learn pilots have been initiated by the Careers Service to assess new approaches to prioritise and support priority groups. The outcomes of these pilots are currently being evaluated and will inform future service delivery. Schools also play an important role in identifying early signs of disengagement and supporting young people through pastoral care, careers education and transition planning. The Careers Service proactively identifies and supports NEET young people through an annual destination exercise and works in partnership with organisations such as the Youth Justice Agency, Health and Social Care Trusts, the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership, the Department for Communities and Local Labour Market Partnerships to help individuals access appropriate education, training and employment opportunities. While support arrangements vary depending on individual circumstances, the overall aim is to ensure that young people facing barriers to progression receive appropriate support to move into education, training, employment or specialist provision. More broadly, my Department works closely with other government departments to ensure that all young people have the support that they need to access our skills and education pathways and proceed into work, no matter what barriers they are facing. In particular, my Department, along with Department for Communities and Department of Health, is delivering a Work and Wellbeing Transformation Project which aims to bring together skills, health and employability to support individuals, including young people, with disability or health related barriers, into or remaining in work. I also recently consulted on a refreshed approach to widening participation in Higher Education which recognised that NEET adjacent young people require additional support to progress into and through higher education.
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