A recent report from the Tony Blair Institute warns that Britain is facing the prospect of a “lost generation”. More than one million young people are now classified as NEET – not in education, employment or training. The report describes this as a catastrophic failure and warns that, unless action is taken, one in six young people could find themselves in this position within a few years.

The figures are alarming. Britain now has one of the highest rates of young people detached from work and education in Europe. The report identifies a number of causes. Entry-level jobs have disappeared. Apprenticeships have declined. Mental-health problems have increased. Welfare systems often provide income but little meaningful route back into participation. Many young people become detached from work at an early age and never recover their place in society.

The proposed remedies are familiar. Reform welfare. Expand employment support. Improve access to healthcare. Strengthen vocational education. Introduce grants and incentives for employers. All of these may help at the margins. Yet they remain rooted in the assumption that the economy of the future will once again provide sufficient conventional jobs to absorb everyone who seeks them.

That assumption deserves questioning.

For decades Britain has organised itself around the expectation of continuous economic growth. Larger businesses, greater specialisation and increasingly centralised systems were expected to generate ever more employment opportunities. Young people would move away from their localities, obtain qualifications, enter national labour markets and pursue careers within expanding organisations.

But what if the era of abundant growth is drawing to a close?

The disappearance of entry-level work may not be a temporary malfunction that can simply be repaired through better policy. Automation, artificial intelligence, rising costs and economic contraction may mean that the traditional ladder into employment is steadily being removed. If so, attempting to recreate the employment patterns of the late twentieth century may become increasingly difficult.

Localism points towards a different response.

In a localist society, participation is not measured solely by holding a formal job within a national labour market. Young people become contributors to the life of their own locality. They help produce food, care for older residents, maintain community assets, assist local enterprises, repair equipment, develop practical skills and participate in networks of mutual support.

Many of these activities have been displaced by large-scale systems. Yet they remain essential to human wellbeing.

A shrinking economy may paradoxically restore opportunities that industrial growth removed. Smaller enterprises require adaptable people willing to undertake a variety of tasks. Local food production needs labour. Care for an ageing population becomes increasingly important. Repair and reuse replace disposal and replacement. Skills are passed from one generation to another through practice rather than certification alone.

In such a setting, young people are no longer defined by whether they occupy a place in a national employment database. They acquire purpose, responsibility and belonging through contribution to the communities in which they live.

This does not mean abandoning education or rejecting all forms of national support. There will always be a role for specialist training, healthcare and wider institutions. But the emphasis shifts. Instead of asking how to return every young person to an increasingly fragile labour market, we ask how localities can once again become places where everyone has a valued role.

The tragedy of the NEET crisis is not simply that young people lack jobs. It is that many lack connection, usefulness and hope.

The report rightly warns against writing off a generation. Yet perhaps the greatest danger lies in believing that the only answer is to rebuild the very systems that created the problem.

Localism offers another possibility. As economic growth slows and national systems struggle under mounting pressures, local communities may naturally reclaim functions they once performed themselves. In doing so, they can provide what many young people most need – meaningful work, practical skills, intergenerational relationships and a recognised place in society.

The “lost generation” need not remain lost.

It may become the generation that rediscovers the value of locality, contribution and belonging.

The NEET crisis is undoubtedly a warning. But it may also be an indication that Britain is approaching a turning point. The future may not lie in finding enough jobs within an old model of growth. It may lie in rebuilding the local foundations of society so that everyone, especially the young, has the opportunity to participate in the life of the community.

That is not merely a policy adjustment.

It is the natural evolution of localism.

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The Tony Blair Institute article can be found here: Preventing a “Lost Generation”: Britain’s NEET Crisis and the Case for Reform. The report notes that more than one million young people are now NEET and warns that Britain risks creating a permanent “lost generation” unless fundamental changes are made.