The Chancellor's Budget was a missed opportunity to confront one of Britain's most pressing economic challenges: almost one million young people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

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The Government announced £100 million for a new local apprenticeship service to connect young people with employers, while the Milburn Review will publish its recommendations on tackling the NEET crisis next month, with legislation expected next year. These are welcome steps. But they overlook a bigger opportunity: preventing young people from disengaging with the jobs of the future in the first place.

Britain is spending considerable sums trying to reconnect young adults with employment. That is necessary. But it raises a question: why are we waiting until young people have lost their direction before showing them what their future could look like?

Consider a twelve-year-old sitting in a classroom today. In just two years, they will choose their GCSE subjects, decisions that could shape their education and eventual career. Yet how many genuinely understand the opportunities awaiting them?

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