As Milburn’s warning sinks in, Generation Logistics Week offers a live test of what sector-led school engagement can look like - starting Monday.
The numbers from the ONS, published on the same day as Alan Milburn’s interim report three weeks ago, were stark: 1,012,000 young people aged 16–24 are now not in education, employment or training. It is the first time that figure has exceeded one million since 2013. Milburn warned that without urgent systemic change, the number could reach 1.25 million within five years - and that the UK now has the second-highest youth NEET rate in the developed world.
His interim diagnosis placed the burden squarely on employers as well as the state. The first rung of the career ladder, he argued, has thinned. Apprenticeship starts for young people have declined by over 40%. Accessible entry points into work have dried up. And 84% of NEET young people say they want a job or training - meaning the problem is not one of motivation but of opportunity, visibility and connection.
That context makes the timing of Generation Logistics Week, which runs from 22 to 26 June, worth paying attention to. It is not a policy intervention. It is an employer-led initiative that lands in schools before the summer break, asking careers leaders and classroom teachers to help students see a sector that most of them have never considered.
Logistics employs around 2.7 million people in the UK - roughly one in twelve of the workforce - and sits behind almost every supply chain in the country. It is also, by most measures, one of the least visible career paths for young people. Generation Logistics, a sector-backed campaign launched in 2022 and supported by employers including Tesco, Asda, DP World and GXO, was designed to change that.
The Week gives schools free access to the Generation Logistics Education Hub: curriculum-linked activities for KS3 to KS5, a virtual careers fair, and structured virtual work experience sessions. Everything is mapped to Gatsby Benchmarks 2, 4, 5 and 6. Nothing requires preparation time or budget.
The Gatsby angle is not incidental. Updated benchmarks came into effect at the start of this academic year, and research from the Gatsby Foundation, published last October, found that high-quality careers guidance structured around the benchmarks prevents around 6,000 young people from becoming NEET each year - saving the government an estimated £300 million annually. Schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils see NEET rates fall by 20% when they fully achieve all eight benchmarks.
The question Milburn’s report raises - and that Generation Logistics Week, in a small way, puts to the test - is whether the gap between good intentions and changed outcomes can actually be closed by employer engagement at this level. The initiative has improved positive perceptions of working in logistics by 140% since 2022, according to the campaign.
“For sectors like logistics, this is a moment of opportunity. Apprenticeships, traineeships and initiatives such as Generation Logistics play a crucial role in opening up pathways for young people who may never have considered a career in the sector - not just entry routes into work, but clear progression, practical skills and long-term careers in a sector that underpins the whole economy.”
Bethany Windsor, Programme Director, Generation Logistics
With one million young people NEET and a full set of Milburn recommendations still to come later this year, the question of what employer engagement in schools can realistically achieve is unlikely to go away. Generation Logistics Week is one small, concrete answer - available to schools from Monday.
Free resources are at educationhub.generationlogistics.org. Registration for the virtual careers fair and virtual work experience is open now.