Southampton’s young people deserve better and Independent Training Providers are ready to deliver

Southampton is a city full of potential. From our port and logistics sector to our growing digital, health and hospitality industries, employers are crying out for young people with the confidence, skills and support to take their first steps into work. And yet, too many of our young people are being left behind.

National NEET figures have now passed one million, the highest level in more than a decade, and the impact is being felt sharply here in Southampton. Behind every statistic is a young person who wants a chance, a direction, a future. What they need is not another report or another round of warm words. They need practical support, delivered by organisations who know how to reach them.

That is where independent training providers come in.

Southampton’s ITPs are already doing the work Independent training providers (ITPs) are often the organisations working most closely with the young people who have disengaged from mainstream education. Many of these young people simply do not thrive in large campuses or traditional classrooms. They need something different: smaller groups, personalised support, flexible timetables and a clear line of sight to employment.

This is exactly what ITPs in Southampton already provide.

At Kiwi Education, for example, we work with young people who have faced anxiety, disrupted schooling, low confidence or challenging home circumstances. Our Apprenticeship Achievement Rate stands at 76.3%, the highest of any provider in Hampshire & the Solent, because our approach is built around relationships, pastoral care and real employer engagement.

We are not alone. Across the city, independent providers are helping young people rebuild confidence, gain skills and move into meaningful work. But we could do far more if the system allowed it.

Southampton has been overlooked but our young people should not be.

Despite clear need, Southampton has repeatedly missed out on national youth engagement pilots and early funding rounds. Cities with lower levels of deprivation and lower youth unemployment have been prioritised ahead of us.

This is not about politics. It is about fairness.

Southampton has the employers, the community organisations and the training providers ready to deliver real change. What we lack is a national framework that recognises the scale of the challenge here and backs the organisations already making an impact.

A funded youth employability programme would transform lives

If we want to prevent a generation of young people from being written off, we need a dedicated youth provision that is built around employability, not bureaucracy.

A successful model would include:

• A training allowance, so young people can participate without falling into deeper poverty

• Intensive, relationship-based support, delivered by local providers who know how to re-engage those furthest from education

• Guaranteed work experience and employer involvement, rooted in Southampton’s real labour market

• Flexible pathways, recognising that not every young person is ready for full-time study

• Clear progression routes into apprenticeships, jobs or further training.

This is not theoretical. ITPs in Southampton are already delivering these elements but just not at the scale the city needs.

Let’s back the organisations already changing lives.

Independent training providers are not a “nice to have”. They are a vital part of Southampton’s skills ecosystem. They work with the young people others struggle to reach. They respond quickly to employer needs. They deliver outcomes that change lives and strengthen our local economy.

If we want to reduce NEET levels in Southampton, we must stop overlooking the organisations already succeeding with our most vulnerable young people. Southampton’s young people are ready for opportunity. Independent training providers are ready to deliver it. What we need now is a system that finally lets us.

Michael Steel Managing Director, Kiwi Education Southampton