Young Person’s Guarantee: highlight report March 2024 to March 2025

The Young Person's Guarantee (YPG) provides young people aged 16 to 24 living in Wales support to gain a place in education or training, help to get into work or self-employment.

Since the launch of the Young Person’s Guarantee in November 2021, we’ve supported over 48,500 young people to access employability and skills programmes alone. More than 6,000 of those young people have progressed into employment and more than 724 have started their own business.

Jobs Growth Wales+ (JGW+)

Our flagship programme launched under the YPG, provides a tailored package of support for young people aged 16 to 19 with training and development activities through employment, formal training or voluntary work, to aid their successful transition into the labour market. So far, 13,345 young people have been engaged through JGW+ since the programme launched in April 2022.

In 2023 to 2024, 60.1% of JGW+ leavers who completed their programme went into a positive outcome up from 59.0% in 2022 to 2023. For disabled learners and (or) those with a learning difficulty, the positive outcome rate increased from 54.1% in 2022 to 2023 to 57.9% in 2023 to 2024. The recently published JGW+ evaluation found that 89% of young people said that the support given had met or exceeded their expectations and had supported their career development. They also said that their individual needs had been considered resulting in them participating in tailored training and development activities. 97% of young people stated that the JGW+ programme had improved their work prospects.

In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, 23.8% of JGW+ programme starts were by young people who identify as disabled and (or) having a learning disability. In 2023, to 2024, 6.4% of programme starts were by Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority learners.

During April 2023 to March 2024, learners’ destination data (within four weeks of leaving the programme), shows that 765 individuals have so far indicated that they found employment (full-time, part-time, or self-employed for 16 or more hours per week. Fuller statistics, including outcomes, are available on the Welsh Government JGW+ webpage.

More information on Jobs Growth Wales+ can be found on our webpages.

ReAct+

Provides grant support for vocational training, travel and other support costs for those seeking to re-enter the labour market, for those aged 20 years and above. The grant is targeted at those under formal notice of redundancy, those who have been made redundant in the last six months, ex-offenders and offenders serving community sentences. The programme has supported 733 young people since its launch in June 2022.

More information on ReAct+ can be found on our webpages.

Communities for Work+ (CfW+)

Is delivered by local authorities and it is our outreach and mentoring services based in communities across Wales. It has focussed its support on people who are most at risk of disadvantage or under-represented in the labour market, providing specialist employment advisory support and mentoring for NEET individuals and those facing complex barriers to employment, aged 16 years and above. Since April 2022, 9,750 young people have engaged with CfW+ and 4,444 have entered employment with support from CFW+.

More information on Communities for Work+ can be found on our webpages.

Inspiring skills excellence in Wales

Supports young people to develop their aspirations through vocational competitions that take place regionally, nationally and internationally. Skills competitions encourage young people to excel in their chosen career and aspire others to do the same. 

Skills competition Wales took place throughout January and February this year and delivered competitions across 58 different skill areas involving around 1,500 young people across Wales. Skills competition Wales delivers 9 Inclusive skills competitions, from Catering and Media to Woodwork and Independent Life skills. This offers disabled Young People and those with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) a chance to challenge themselves, benchmark their skills and celebrate success.

At the recent National UK Finals in November 2024, Wales emerged as a standout region in the competition. 118 Welsh competitors competed at the National Final and won a total of 70 medals setting the stage for Wales to host the WorldSkills UK Finals for the first time in November 2025. At the WorldSkills Final in Lyon in September 2024, 6 Welsh students competed as part of Team UK, with one Welsh competitor, Ruben Duggan, winning a silver medal. Nearly a third of the WorldSkills UK training coaches came from the education and training sector in Wales. 

More information on Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales can be found on our webpages.

Self-employment support

Big Ideas Wales supports young people aged 25 and under who are facing barriers to starting a business. Since April 2021 to January 2025, 245,966 young people under 25 years of age have been involved in enterprise workshops and webinars led by Big Ideas Wales Role Models to raise awareness and understanding of self-employment. 3,332 young people have progressed their ideas for business and received business advice and as a result 724 clients have started their business through Big Ideas Wales.

The Young Persons Start Up Grant was launched in July 2022 to provide additional financial support to unemployed young people. From July 2022 to January 2025, 616 grants were approved to support young people to start a business.

More information on Big Ideas Wales and self-employment support can be found on our webpages.

Apprenticeships

Combine practical training in a job alongside additional study, allowing an apprentice to gain work experience, learn new skills and get a nationally recognised qualification while earning a wage. Since commencement of the YPG in November 2021, there have been over 24,015 apprenticeship starts (provisional data). A link to the figures is available on the Medr website.

More information on apprenticeships can be found on our webpages.

Employment and Enterprise Bureaus

Were developed to help employers to connect with students and develop their future workforce. Operating in every Further Education College in Wales, they invite employers to engage directly with their students to discuss employment opportunities. From August 2024 the responsibility for mainstreaming the Employment and Enterprise Bureaus passed to Medr.

Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service

Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service is focused on providing long term support to people recovering from mental health and (or) substance misuse issues for people aged 16 to 24 who are NEET. It helps the most vulnerable, and those furthest away from the labour market, to rebuild their lives and to get back into training, education and employment.

Between October 2022 and December 2024, the service has supported over 2,289 young people aged 16 to 24. Of these:

• 529 have achieved a work relevant certificate or qualification
• 233 entered education
• 431 engaged in job search
• 189 entered employment
• 326 increased employability by completing a work experience placement or volunteering opportunity

More information on the Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service can be found on our webpages.

In-Work Support Service

In-Work Support Service commenced in April 2023 and provides rapid access to tailored occupational therapy, physiotherapy and psychological therapy services, designed to help employed or self-employed people return to work or manage a health condition in work due to a mental health or musculoskeletal problem. The Service also offers free support and training directly to businesses in the private and third sector, who often lack access to occupational health services.

Between April 2023 and December 2024, 397 clients aged 16 to 24 with physical and (or) mental ill-health have been supported by the service. Of these:

• 360 are in work at risk of going absent from work
• 37 are absentees, absent from work
• 209 reported they had been helped to remain in work
• 196 reported an improvement in their health

More information on the In-Work Support Service can be found on our webpages.

Working Wales

Offers free and impartial careers advice and guidance for young people aged 16 or above, helping young people connect with the programmes mentioned above like Jobs Growth Wales Plus or ReAct+.

Between 1 November 2021 and 31 December 2024, Working Wales supported 35,230 young people aged 16 to 24. The support provided included:

• 102,992 individual interactions, totalling nearly 54,000 hours of direct support
• 51,399 onward referrals to further support and opportunities

There are a range of case studies hosted on the Working Wales website.

Feed Your Positivity

The Young Person’s Guarantee is communicated through the ‘Feed Your Positivity’ marketing campaign, which targets young people and parents to encourage them to positively engage with their plans for the future. Over the last year, key coverage of the YPG has been across broadcast and digital audio channels such as BBC Wales, ITV Wales, Capital radio, The Metro and Spotify in Wales. We also partnered with a network of social media influencers to promote our messages helping to reach 92,000 YPG promotional video views (compared to 10,000 in 2023). 

After exam results, we showcased case studies on alternative paths in apprenticeships, straight to work, continuing education and starting a business.

Youth Engagement and Progression Framework

The Youth Engagement and Progression Framework (‘the Framework’) aims to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training or at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET). The Framework applies to those aged 11 to 18 and works in conjunction with the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG), which applies to all aged 16 to 24.

The Framework has processes in place to identify young people who require tailored support that meets their needs and to monitor their progression. This is led by local authorities and their delivery partners. Key partner organisations include the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). Young people with significant barriers to engagement are then allocated lead workers to help them transition to post-16 education, training or employment.

In 2023 to 2024 Estyn undertook a thematic review to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the lead worker role in assisting at-risk young people through their transition into post-16 education, training, or employment. Estyn’s Youth Engagement and Progression Lead Worker Review was published in July 2024, the Youth engagement and progression lead worker review Welsh Government response was published in August 2024. Estyn’s report contains 5 recommendations collectively for the Welsh Government, Careers Wales, local authorities, and all other partners involved in supporting young people through lead workers. The Welsh Government is working with stakeholders to take forward Estyn’s recommendations. Taking forward the shared recommendations will ultimately work to improve engagement levels of young people with significant barriers to engagement and have a positive impact on their ability to access to the wider YPG offer.

All actions and delivery under the Framework and the YPG contribute towards the Welsh Government’s National Milestone of at least 90% of 16- to 24-year-olds being in education, employment, or training by 2050.

We rely on the Statistical First Release (SFR) indicator to measure this National Milestone target. To note, whilst the SFR release considers data for 16- to 18-year-olds and 19- to 24-year-olds separately, the National Milestone is based on the full 16 to 24 age range.

The Statistical First Release provisionally estimates that 85.8% of 16- to 24-year-olds were in education, employment or training in 2022, up from 83.7% in 2021.

To note that the latest Statistical First Release was due to be published on 7 November 2024 but was postponed until 13 March 2025.

The Young Person's Guarantee is a Programme for Government commitment, launched in November 2021. The YPG provides young people aged between 16 and 24 in Wales with an ongoing offer of support to gain a place in education or training, find a job or become self-employed.

Young people access the support primarily through Working Wales and the YPG brings together a range of programmes such as Jobs Growth Wales+, ReAct+ and Communities for Work+.

Since its commencement, the YPG has developed and adapted to reflect young peoples’ aspirations and needs in Wales, building on the positive progress to date. Young people have been able to inform and shape delivery of the guarantee through mechanisms such as our National Conversation and our YPG Young Peoples Advisory Group. Giving young people a voice (particularly those from seldom heard cohorts) to inform the YPG is a key driver behind the offer, ensuring it remains relevant and is delivered appropriately.

This is the third annual report and sets out progress made during the last year. 

It also illustrates the achievements of different programme elements of the YPG as well as highlighting some of the key themes moving forwards.

Importantly, our third annual report outlines how the YPG has helped to improve knowledge and understanding around the key issues which matter to young people in Wales, and this will continue to inform the offer into the future.

What are young people saying

Young people continue to face a range of issues, many of which have been shaped over previous years by the pandemic and cost of living crisis. They raised issues with us during our National Conversations on things such as: the need for work experience, transport solutions and mental health support. More information on the findings of the National Conversation held with young people in 2022 and 2023 can be found on the Welsh Government website.

Our Young Person’s Guarantee continues to be informed by young people who provide feedback, views and suggestions on the issues and barriers that impact them.

The Young Person Guarantee Young Persons Advisory Group (facilitated by Children in Wales)

During 2024, the Young Persons Guarantee Young Persons Advisory Group continued to discuss and provide critical feedback about the programmes and services that deliver the YPG.

Over the period, the group discussed and informed the issues faced by disabled young people, reflecting on learning and training provision, whilst also focussing on access to job opportunities and becoming self-employed. This included a session facilitated by the Welsh Government Disability Employment Champions.