he City & Guilds Foundation has awarded £75,000 to Youth Employment UK to launch Skills for the Future, a new strategic partnership designed to help young people better understand the opportunities, skills and routes into growing sectors of the economy.
The funding will support the pilot development of three digital sector pathway experiences, giving young people accessible and practical guidance as they navigate the transition from education into employment.
The new resources will bring together careers inspiration, industry insight, skills awareness and practical learning, helping young people build confidence, understand where opportunities exist and explore the different routes into good work.
The first pathways will focus on sectors including construction, engineering, digital and green skills; areas expected to play an increasingly important role in the future economy.
Laura-Jane Rawlings MBE DL FCGI FIEP, Founder & CEO of Youth Employment UK said:
“Young people are telling us very clearly that they want to work and are actively building the skills they need, but too often the route from education into good work is difficult to see and even harder to navigate.
This pilot matters because it will turn that challenge into something practical – giving young people trusted, accessible and engaging ways to explore sectors, understand the skills employers value and see the different routes they can take into work.
The funding from the City & Guilds Foundation is a significant investment in making that vision a reality and will enable us to build on our existing expertise and reach, bringing employers, young people and careers information together in one place. We’re delighted to be partnering with the Foundation to help ensure that ambition is met with real, visible opportunity.”
The partnership comes as new findings from Youth Employment UK’s 2026 Youth Voice Census highlight the growing challenge young people face in turning ambition and preparation into meaningful opportunities.
Now in its ninth year, the Youth Voice Census gives young people aged 11–30 a national platform to share their experiences of the previous 12 months. In 2026, 11,508 young people took part, making it a useful knowledge bank of how young people are experiencing education, skills, careers and the transition into work.
The latest findings show that young people want to work, but the route into work feels harder to navigate.
Among 17–19-year-olds, 67% say they are likely or very likely to apply for a job as their next step, compared with 51% who say they are likely or very likely to apply to university. Yet only 26% believe good-quality jobs are available in their local area, while 39% disagree.
The Census also highlights the importance of access to experience. Lack of work experience is now the most commonly reported employment barrier among the relevant work-focused group, cited by 57%, up from 47% in 2025. Meanwhile, 75% of young people looking for work say paid work experience would help.
These findings underline the central challenge that Skills for the Future is designed to address: preparation alone cannot overcome unequal access to opportunity.
Young people are developing skills, learning how to apply for work and engaging with careers support. However, the gap emerges when that preparation has to translate into real-world opportunity.
The Census found that 47% perceive employers as unsupportive of hiring young people, while 30% say a lack of local jobs is a barrier to finding work. Place can have a significant impact on access, with a job existing in an area without necessarily being a realistic opportunity for a young person who cannot reach it reliably, affordably or safely.
Skills for the Future will respond by making sectors, skills and progression routes easier to understand and navigate.
The primary beneficiaries will be young people navigating the transition from education into employment, including those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), those at risk of disengaging, and students exploring their future options.
Alongside the experiences designed for young people, Youth Employment UK will create supporting resources for the adults and professionals who help them make decisions about their futures including: parents, educators, careers advisers, youth workers, employability practitioners and work coaches.
The findings of the 2026 Census reinforce why this work matters. Young people continue to show ambition: they want education, experience and employment, and they are actively developing the skills they believe they will need. But ambition does not automatically translate into opportunity.
Skills for the Future will help close that gap by making pathways into sectors and careers more visible, credible and practical, giving young people a clearer understanding of the opportunities available and the steps they can take to reach them.
Polly Rowe, Head of Programmes and Engagement at City & Guilds Foundation said about the partnership: ‘We are immensely proud to be partnering with Youth Employment UK on Skills for the Future. This is exactly the kind of work the Foundation exists to support: practical, evidence-led and shaped by what young people themselves are telling us. And what they are telling us is urgent. This year’s Youth Voice Census shows more young people want to move straight into work than into university, yet only a quarter believe good-quality jobs exist where they live, and lack of work experience has overtaken every other barrier they face. We look forward to seeing the difference this pilot will have over the coming year and beyond.’
The partnership reflects City & Guilds Foundation’s commitment to ensuring that every young person, whatever their starting point, can access the skills, opportunities and confidence they need to turn ambition into a fulfilling future.
Find out more about Youth Employment UK here.