A million young people are not in work. Here’s what we’re building.

Last year I spoke to a leader at a large retailer who told me she’d given up trying to hire young people. Not because she didn’t want to. But because every time she tried, something got in the way - the right programme didn’t exist for her team’s roles, the cost of a younger hire was virtually the same as for an experienced one, the admin took weeks. She ended up hiring someone in their thirties. Fine, but not what she’d set out to do.

I’ve had versions of that conversation many times. The problem isn’t that employers don’t care about young people. It’s that the system has made it genuinely hard to act on that care.

A million young people locked out of work

Over one million under-25s in the UK are currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET). That number has been rising since the pandemic, at a cost of an estimated £20 billion in lost economic output. More than the macroeconomic number, there’s a human one: young people who spend extended time outside work or education face lower earnings and worse prospects for the rest of their lives. This is not a marginal policy problem.

We’ve been working in this space for nearly ten years. Thousands of young people have started their careers through a Multiverse apprenticeship and we have worked with over 1,500 employers. We know what works and we know what gets in the way.

Three forces reshaping early talent hiring

Three things are happening simultaneously that have led us to redouble our efforts here.

First, the economic squeeze. AI is optimising roles and reducing demand for entry-level work. Fewer vacancies mean more young people competing for less. The jobs that used to be natural on-ramps into careers are either disappearing or changing beyond recognition. The young people applying for them are just as capable and motivated as ever but the system isn’t keeping up.

Second, the policy shift. The Government has read the moment and is responding. It’s trying to build more incentives for under-25s, using cash and training subsidies to get young people into quality apprenticeships. The policy direction is clear. The challenge is whether the right programmes exist for that investment to flow into.

Third, the AI skills gap. This is the one that strikes me as most urgent. Young people know the jobs they’re entering look nothing like the ones their colleagues started in five years ago. They want future-proofed skills. But only 13% of early talent apprenticeships are in digital or business - the very skills they need most are the least available to them. That’s not a gap. It’s an open goal.

What Multiverse is launching: an AI-first apprenticeship for career starters

So we’re doing something about it.

This September, Multiverse is launching a new AI-first early talent programme. Built from the ground up for career starters. Designed around what employers told us they actually need from day one - not what existed when the last generation of standards was written. Our aim is to deliver 2,000 opportunities for young people annually.

It starts with data and AI literacy: the foundation. Then moves to responsible use - the guardrails and judgment that employers worry young people lack. Then to practical productivity and applying those skills to real workflows and processes from the outset. The goal is simple: a young person who starts with us should be able to contribute meaningfully, they should be fluent in the basics of data and AI. This means they are able to make data-driven decisions, derive insights from data, use data to tell stories, and optimise workflows with AI for themselves and those around them. It should give them the springboard they need and employers the confidence to hire them.

We’ve built this with four things in mind. Workplace readiness - behaviours and confidence, not just technical skills. Wraparound support - coaching, mentoring, and career guidance throughout. Structured AI literacy that’s practical, not theoretical. And Atlas, our 24/7 AI coach, so learners get help when they actually need it.

Our recommendations for government on early talent

We’ve spoken to hundreds of employers. The picture is consistent: they want to hire young people. They’re being held back by cost, complexity, and the absence of programmes that provide the foundational skills that young people need in the AI era.

We have views on what government should do to fix this structurally and we’ve published them. If you’re interested in the policy argument, including our seven concrete recommendations for reform, you can read the full paper here.

But policy moves slowly. What moves faster is employers deciding to act.

If you’re building a team and wondering whether an early talent programme could work for you, we’d like to talk. We’re opening early access to the September cohort now.
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