From First Job to Future Career

TOP's Youth Employment Manifesto

Real Routes. Real Careers.

Employers, providers and young people working together

Too many young people are outside education, employment and training. At the same time, employers across the country are struggling to recruit, train and retain the next generation of talent.

The national conversation has moved on. While the Industrial Strategy remains important, it cannot answer the immediate challenge facing young people, employers and local communities.

At The Opportunity Provider, we believe the country does not need endless new schemes. It needs real routes into work, backed by employers, supported by trusted training providers and understood by young people.

That is why we have developed From First Job to Future Career: TOP's Youth Manifesto.

It sets out our view on how apprenticeships, employers and training providers can work together to help more young people move into work, build confidence and progress into lasting careers.

Recognising Career Starter Sectors

For many young people, the first step into work will not be in advanced manufacturing, clean energy or life sciences.

It will be in a kitchen, a hotel, a pub, a restaurant, a shop, a nursery, a care setting or a local family business.

These are the places where young people learn how work works.

Hospitality, retail, early years and adult care should be recognised as Career Starter Sectors because they are open, local and people-facing. They teach the professional behaviours every employer needs:

Timekeeping

Teamwork

Communication

Resilience

Responsibility

Planning

Problem solving

Customer care

Leadership

Emotional intelligence

A first job in these sectors can give a young person confidence, structure, income and transferable skills they can use wherever their career takes them. Some will build long-term careers in these sectors. Others will take those skills into different industries. Both outcomes matter.

Apprenticeships should create pathways, not just vacancies

Youth employment is not only about creating new entry-level jobs.

In many businesses, the best way to create an entry point for a young person is to upskill and promote someone already in the organisation. When a team member moves into supervision, or a supervisor moves into management, a new entry-level opportunity can open up behind them.

Apprenticeships make this possible.

They help employers grow their own people, retain talent and create clear pathways from first job to future career. This matters across the sectors we support through HIT Training, and Connect2Care, including hospitality, retail, adult care, early years and funeral services.

What we are asking government to do

Our manifesto sets out practical ways government can support young people, employers and training providers.

We are asking government to:

Recognise Priority Sectors:

Recognise hospitality, retail, early years and adult care as Career Starter Sectors.

Deliver Through Sectors:

Use these sectors as practical delivery partners for the Youth Guarantee.

Fund Youth Apprenticeships:

Fully fund apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships for all 16 to 18-year-olds in these sectors, regardless of levy status.

Create Progression Routes:

Support clear progression from foundation routes into Level 2, Level 3 and higher apprenticeship pathways.

Strengthen Foundations:

Make foundation apprenticeships more flexible by allowing completion in up to eight months, with earlier progression into Level 2 or Level 3 apprenticeships where the learner is ready.

Fund Practical Skills:

Fund practical apprenticeship units for work-readiness and first-line managers.

Reduce Provider Risk:

De-risk youth apprenticeships for providers, not just employers.

Support Small Businesses:

Protect small businesses from unnecessary cost and administration.

Measure Real Success:

Measure success through retention, achievement, progression and confidence, not just apprenticeship starts.

De-risking delivery for providers and employers

The Youth Guarantee rightly includes support to help employers take on young people. That support is welcome, especially for small businesses.

But if government wants more young people to move into work through apprenticeships, it must also recognise the role of training providers.

Providers do more than deliver training. They engage employers, promote apprenticeships, generate opportunities, support recruitment, guide businesses through the apprenticeship system and help learners stay on track.

Young people often need more onboarding, more pastoral support, more help with English and maths, more SEND support and more early intervention. Small businesses also need more guidance and relationship management than large levy-paying employers.

That is why we believe part of the existing Youth Guarantee funding should be used to create a Youth Apprenticeship Provider Allowance, targeted at providers working with young people, SMEs and Career Starter Sectors.

Employer incentives create the opportunity. Provider capacity, employer engagement and learner support help young people take that opportunity, stay on programme and succeed.

Measuring what matters

Success should not be measured by starts alone. If the Youth Guarantee is to work, government, employers and providers must look at whether young people stay, achieve, progress and build confidence. That means measuring:

Retention and achievement
Progression into further apprenticeships, employment or promotion
Sustained employment after completion
Learner confidence and wellbeing
Employer confidence in recruiting young people
Outcomes for learners with SEND and additional learning needs
Continued development of English, maths and wider employability skills

The right measure is not simply whether a young person starts. It is whether they are supported to succeed.

TOP’s Commitment

Ready to work with partners to make youth employment work.

Government & System Partners

Working with government, Skills England, DWP, Jobcentre Plus, mayoral authorities, sector bodies and employers to make youth employment work.

Apprenticeship Pathways

Through HIT Training, Connect2Care and EDN Training, we will help employers create apprenticeship pathways across hospitality, retail, adult care, early years, funeral services and leadership.

Growing Employer Talent

Supporting employers to grow their own talent, promote from within and create space for young people to enter the workforce.

Sector Outreach

Working with sector institutions and partners to share good practice, build employer confidence and show how apprenticeships support both entry into work and progression.

Pastoral Support

Maintaining and improving pastoral support through our SENDCo team, careers team, trainers and employer partnerships - with a focus on early intervention, English and maths, additional learning needs, workplace confidence and progression planning.

Lasting Careers

Hospitality, retail, early years and adult care can provide a first step and support lasting careers. Apprenticeships can connect both entry into work and long-term progression.

Read the full manifesto

Download From First Job to Future Career: TOP's Youth Manifesto to read our full position and policy asks.

Download today

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