Findings from the survey show that young women who don’t go to university are more likely than young men to be in casual or temporary work at the age of 19-20 but less likely to be NEET. These statistics reflect gendered patterns of labour market engagement: while young women may be more successful at avoiding complete labour market exclusion, they are more often in insecure, lower quality employment. Our interview data suggests that gendered expectations, occupational segregation and caring responsibilities may be contributing to these patterns.

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Among applicants for apprenticeships at ages 17-18, those not born in the UK are less likely to be successful in securing one. At ages 19-20, in addition to migration background, ethnicity and SEND status become significant predictors of success in accessing an apprenticeship: White young people are more likely to secure apprenticeships than Asian and Black applicants, and those without SEND are more likely to secure apprenticeships than those with two or more SEND conditions.

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Young people with SEND are substantially disadvantaged across multiple outcomes. As well as being less likely to undertake apprenticeships or secure stable work, they are much more likely to become NEET.

Access to work is also ethnically patterned. Young people who identify as White are significantly more likely than those who identify as Black, Asian or Mixed to be in stable paid work, while young people identifying as being from a Mixed or Other ethnicity face a higher risk of being NEET than their White peers.

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Strong social class gradients in apprenticeship participation (especially at higher levels) highlight persistent class-based inequalities in access to high-quality training. Young people from middle-class backgrounds are better positioned to access Level 4+ apprenticeships, which are often linked to more lucrative and secure careers. Meanwhile, those from working-class backgrounds are more likely to struggle with accessing even lower level apprenticeships, reinforcing existing intergenerational class stratification.

Area-based deprivation also plays a key role in determining access to apprenticeships: young people in the most deprived areas (as measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation) are about 9 percentage points less likely to take up Level 4+ apprenticeships than those in the least deprived areas.

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More detailed findings with survey and interview data can be found in our Precarious Transitions summary report, published in November 2025.

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