Youth Opportunity Pledge (YOP!) Launched to Protect Young People’s Work Experience

A new national initiative from The Purpose Coalition aims to encourage businesses to protect young people’s access to the workplace has been launched today, as rising youth unemployment and rapid technological change place increasing pressure on early career opportunities.

The Youth Opportunity Pledge (YOP!)  has been co-founded by Rt Hon Justine Greening, Former Education Secretary, and Paula Sherriff former Labour MP and Shadow Health Minister.

The Youth Opportunity Pledge (YOP!) builds on the success of the original Social Mobility Pledge, which has brought together over 450 organisations and 50 universities to expand access to opportunity across the UK. The new initiative responds to a changing labour market by focusing on a critical issue: ensuring young people continue to have meaningful first experiences of work. 

Recent data highlights the urgency of the challenge. Youth unemployment among 16–24-year-olds has reached 16% - the highest level in over a decade - while nearly 957,000 young people are not in education, employment or training. At the same time, automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping entry-level roles, reducing traditional pathways into work. 

The Youth Opportunity Pledge is designed to address this growing gap. It asks employers to make a commitment to providing high-quality work experience opportunities, ensuring that access to the workplace is maintained even where permanent hiring is constrained and technological change is disrupting the workplace. 

Co-founder of the Youth Opportunity Pledge and chair of The Purpose Coalition Justine Greening, said:

“Talent is evenly distributed across this country, but opportunity is not. We are now at a point where that imbalance risks becoming more entrenched. The first step into the workplace, through work experience, placements or internships, is where confidence is built, skills are developed, and futures begin to take shape. That first step is now under threat.

YOP! is about protecting it. If businesses cannot always expand hiring, they can still expand opportunity. This is a practical response to a structural challenge in the labour market and rapid technological change.”

The pledge emphasises that maintaining early career pathways is not only a social imperative but an economic one. Reductions in entry-level hiring and training risk weakening the long-term talent pipeline, increasing skills shortages and raising costs for employers over time. 

By contrast, sustained investment in early exposure to work helps build a more resilient workforce, supports productivity, and strengthens long-term growth.

The Youth Opportunity Pledge calls for action across employers, universities, colleges and both local and national government to ensure young people from all backgrounds can continue to access the skills, experience and networks they need to succeed.

Paula Sherriff, co-founder and former Labour MP for Dewsbury added:

“This is not a challenge for anyone part of society alone. Employers however can shape young people's future in a very positive way by protecting and expanding their work experience. YOP! brings organisations together to commit to doing just that, so that talent is not lost, and opportunity remains open.”

To sign up to YOP! and make your pledge to protect work experience please click here