The Dutch have a model. And Labour is looking at it closely. A report out today from the Institute for Public Policy Research suggests the UK should copy the Netherlands’ approach to youth unemployment. The Dutch ‘School-Ex’ programme, they say, offers a way out of the dead-end spiral that traps so many British youngsters.
Here’s the pitch: no young person is allowed to fall through the cracks. In the Netherlands, if you’re under 27 and out of work, the state steps in fast. You get a personalised plan. Training, education, or a job placement. No waiting. No ‘sign on and disappear’.
The results are stark. Dutch youth unemployment sits at around 8%. The UK’s is over 12% and rising. The IPPR calls it a ‘no dead ends’ approach. Every pathway leads somewhere. No more zero-hour contracts with no future. No more chasing low-skilled jobs that vanish in a recession.
But is it exportable? The Dutch have a different labour market. Stronger unions. A tradition of social partnership. Employers are used to investing in training. Here, we have a deregulated free-for-all. The Tories have spent years dismantling worker protections. Labour says it wants to ‘Make Work Pay’. But that means reversing a decade of policy.
What would it take? A youth guarantee. A legal duty on local authorities to find a job or training for every unemployed young person. That costs money. The IPPR estimates £2bn a year. A lot in the current climate. But the cost of doing nothing is higher. Long-term youth unemployment scars a generation. Lost earnings. Poor health. Social unrest.
The shadow work and pensions secretary is said to be ‘very interested’ in the idea. But he faces internal opposition. Some Labour MPs worry it sounds like a ‘back to work’ scheme from the DWP. The hard left sees it as a form of coercion. The right says it’s too expensive.
The real problem is political will. The Dutch model works because everyone buys in. Employers, unions, government. Here, we have a fragmented system. Schools don’t talk to Jobcentres. Apprenticeships are often low quality. The Treasury is obsessed with cutting welfare bills, not investing in human capital.
So can Keir Starmer sell this? He’s a lawyer. He loves evidence. The evidence is clear. But he also loves a headline. And ‘Dutch youth miracle’ is a good one. But miracles don’t just happen. They require a change of culture. And in Westminster, culture change is the hardest thing of all.
Watch this space. The IPPR report will be briefed to friendly journalists over the next few days. The Treasury is already pushbacking on the cost. But the political calculus is shifting. With an election looming, Labour can’t afford to look clueless on the economy. This gives them a story to tell.
The key will be presentation. Call it a ‘youth guarantee’, not a ‘benefit reform’. Frame it as investment, not spending. And hope the public is in the mood for a fresh start. Because the status quo is clearly failing. And the Dutch have shown there is another way.
