Plans in place to tackle youth unemployment in the North East
Written by Oliver Hodge on 19th October 2026
This week in parliment, Andy Burnham will announce forthcoming plans to give young people thousands of job oppurtunities accross the country.
Mr Burnham stated in the Times newspaper he intends to “invest in the success of young people”, deeming the unemployment crisis as an “economic catastrophe”, and a “Moral failure”.
According to the Government UK database, the North East region has the highest number of unemployed youth in England – with 21% not in education employment, or training (NEET) as 2025.
A spokesman for the University of Sunderland said: “At the University we are committed to ensuring our students graduate with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing job market.
“This year, we introduced a new Curriculum Design Framework requiring every programme to align with the UK Standard Skills Classification from the outset. This means relevant occupational skills are embedded throughout our degrees, rather than being added at the end of a student’s university experience.
“We also recognise that qualifications and technical skills are only part of the picture. Through our SPARK outcomes model, we are developing the whole person, helping students build confidence, understand and articulate their strengths, develop adaptable and transferable skills, and gain meaningful experience of the workplace.
“Career development, work-integrated learning, enterprise education and education for sustainable development are deliberately built into our courses. Our ambition is that when Sunderland graduates meet an employer, they can do much more than explain what they have studied: they can demonstrate the skills, experience and qualities they will bring to the workplace.”
Nathan Sutcliffe, 20, who is training in Joinery said: “I’m confident i’ll find work eventually as joiners will always be needed but it may take some time to start with.”
Hugh Macknight, of the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (NEMSA) said: “We are due (at the MSA Cabinet meeting on Oct 27) to discuss asking government for £10m to fund a ‘clearing style’ apprenticeship brokerage system, which would make life easier for people seeking apprenticeships.”
Next month, Andy Burnham will publish a full review of young people and work, stating he intends to take its recommendations “seriously”.
