Examining the critical relationship between Welfare, NEETs and Social Mobility

Registrations for this event are now waitlist only

Registrations for this event have now at capacity, however if you would like to join the waiting list please email: symposium@socialmobilitycommission.gov.uk.

The over one million young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) have made headlines this year.  

A lack of adequate attention and decades of policy churn has allowed a whole generation of young people to find themselves labelled ‘NEET’. But who finds themselves with this label? Where someone grows up, their gender, socio-economic background and health are all playing a part in these stark stats. 

The Social Mobility Symposium will bring together policymakers, cross-party voices and experts to explore the landscape of the UK’s welfare system and its direct impact on NEETs and social mobility. 

Attendees will hear from a range of experts discussing welfare policies, pathways for NEETs, place-based approaches, and the intersections of mental health, disabilities, and welfare. After the day concludes attendees are invited to attend a networking event also hosted at the Royal Society of Arts. 

Keynote speakers

	Angela Rayner MP –  Former Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
	Helen Whately MP – Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions
	Lord Blunkett, Former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Education and Home Office

Expert panels

Pathways for NEETs

• Alun Francis – Chair, Social Mobility Commission
• Nick Bent – CEO, upReach
• Charlotte McGrath – CEO, Movement to Work
• Sharon Blyfield – Head of Early Careers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB
• Craig Beaumont – Executive Director, Federation of Small Businesses
• Lauren Domfe – Founder of Bear the Brunt

Place-based approaches

• Rob Wilson – Deputy Chair, Social Mobility Commission
• Baroness Stedman-Scott – Former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions
• Anna Dawe – Principal & CEO, Wigan & Leigh College
• Nishi Mayor – Director of Employer Engagement & Partnerships, Youth Futures Foundation
• Paul O’Neill – Development Director, Steve Morgan Foundation

Welfare policies and how these currently influence NEETs

• Resham Kotecha – Deputy Chair, Social Mobility Commission
• Ryan Wain – Executive Director of Politics, Tony Blair Institute
• Dr Annie Irvine – Qualitative social researcher and Lecturer in Social Policy, University of York
• Robert Halfon – Executive Director, Make UK and Former Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships & HE
• Laura-Jane Rawlings – CEO, Youth Employment UK
• Peter Swallow MP – Chair of the APPG on Social Mobility

Breaking down barriers for economically inactive NEETs

• Tina Stowell – Commissioner, Social Mobility Commission
• Naomi Clayton – CEO, Institute for Employment Studies
• Laura Savage – Partner Services and Social Value Solutions Director, People Plus
• Joanna Hofman – Director of Research and Evaluation, IPSOS
• Fraser Nelson – Political journalist and former editor of the Spectator Magazine

For any questions, please contact the Social Mobility Commission team on: symposium@socialmobilitycommission.gov.uk

Full agenda

• 09.00 – 09:45 – Arrival and registration
• 09:45 – 11:00 – Welcome address and opening speakers
• 11.00 – 11:30 – Break
• 11:30-  12:45 – Panel Sessions
• 12:45 – 14.00 – Lunch
• 14.00 – 15.15 – Panel Sessions
• 15:15 – 15:45 – Break
• 15:45 – 16:45 – Closing Keynote, Q&A and remarks
• 16:45 – 18:30 – Networking Event in the RSA Bar