According to a recent independent inquiry, nearly two-thirds of white working-class young people leave school without the qualifications, and often initial skills, they need to thrive in their adult lives. By the age of five, less than half are judged to be at a good level of development, while school absence remains significantly higher than the national average. Combined with more than one million young people currently classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET), these figures paint a hugely distressing picture for our next generation. Behind these statistics are bright, ambitious young people whose strengths and potential are too often overlooked. Young people who can create a business from scratch, rebuild an engine, or who independently care for younger siblings. The problem is not a lack of ability, but a system that too often measures success through a narrow academic lens. For too long, educational success has been defined by GCSEs, A-levels and university. While that pathway continues to work for many, it must not be the only valued route. Countless young people unlock their potential through technical education, apprenticeships, skilled trades, volunteering and work experience. These routes are no less ambitious than traditional academic pathways, yet often they receive less recognition. Genuine opportunities When a young person struggles to see their skillset reflected in the world around them, they unsurprisingly start to disengage. This is becoming more visible in post-industrial towns and coastal communities, including Scunthorpe and Grimsby, which the independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes identifies as facing the greatest challenges. The issue is not the lack of aspiration within these communities. It’s the lack of visible pathways that connect that aspiration to genuine opportunity. We know the difference these opportunities can make. At Oasis Academy Immingham for example, careers education starts long before year 11. Staff work closely with families, employers and the wider community to help young people understand the opportunities available, and the skills they need to access them. From highly competitive local apprenticeships to emerging sectors, pupils are supported to see a bright future for themselves, all within Grimsby. The impact of these daily interventions cannot be ignored, with every pupil leaving the academy with secured education, employment or training. This no-NEET status has enabled Oasis Academy Immingham to deepen educational partnerships, including with the local college, which is now partly based in its school building, directly linking pupils’ next steps in education with local businesses. This is about helping young people recognise their strengths and turn them into successful futures. The same principle underpins the work of Oasis Academy Brislington in Bristol, where youth workers provide mentoring and support alongside school staff. Careers education Careers education is embedded throughout school life, while essential skills such as teamwork, communication and problem-solving are developed through the curriculum, enrichment activities and sustained employer engagement. These approaches depend on strong local partnerships between schools, colleges, universities, businesses, charities and civic institutions. In communities where the infrastructure of opportunity is weakest, those relationships matter most. We must be careful not to draw the wrong conclusions from the inquiry. Young people in harder-to-reach communities do not need lower expectations or different ambitions. They need better access to the opportunities that allow those ambitions to become reality. If we are serious about widening opportunity, the case for stronger technical and vocational pathways, robust careers education, meaningful employer engagement and renewed investment in youth services is undeniable. The Gatsby benchmarks and emerging enrichment benchmarks are helping schools provide stronger guidance and broader experiences. But access remains unequitable. A young person’s future should not depend on where they grow up. The government has made opportunity and economic growth central to its mission. It must now be held accountable for delivering them. That means expanding access to workplace experiences, investing in youth services, raising the status of technical and vocational routes and ensuring communities facing the greatest disadvantage are not left behind. Schools cannot close the white working-class achievement gap alone. It will take a collective effort from government, education, employers and communities. We all have a responsibility to act now, while holding the government to its promise of creating the opportunities every young person deserves. The young people behind these statistics are not defined by the challenges they face. They are defined by what they can achieve when given the chance. Our task is to make sure that chance exists.