Gen Z Trades Employment Up 11.3% as Burnham Pledges Youth Work Support

Gen Z employment in construction and the trades rose 11.3% between May and August this year — almost three times the growth recorded in retail and hospitality — according to figures cited by Kevin Fitzgerald, UK managing director at Employment Hero, in response to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's inaugural Labour Party conference speech in Liverpool. The number frames a labour market in which young people are actively repositioning themselves away from traditional corporate roles as those openings dry up.

Burnham used the keynote address to pledge "the right support for our young people when they need it", including better support entering the workplace. His speech was dominated by four commitments: adjusting the triple lock on state pensions from 2030, forging closer ties with Europe, establishing a national commission for electoral reform, and creating a national care service free at the point of use.

But with former health secretary Alan Milburn's final report on Neets — young people not in education, employment or training — due imminently, Burnham also put youth employment near the centre of the agenda. He told conference his government would "change the education system and the welfare system".

"We will rebuild a system of comprehensive education in this country with parity between academic and technical," he said. "Good quality pathways for all from 14, and the right support for our young people when they need it. A 45-day work placement between 16 and 18, an apprenticeship at 18."

He added: "We will require young people to take up the help presented to them – guaranteeing in-work support and not leaving those out of work losing confidence and connection. This is a different approach to welfare." He said the changes would require "a fundamental rethink of the welfare system to find the money for these opportunities upfront".

What the pledges mean for young workers

For an individual aged 16 to 18, the proposal would guarantee a structured 45-day work placement, with an apprenticeship available at 18. The reciprocal element — a requirement to accept the support offered — signals that future welfare entitlements for young people may carry conditions tied to participation.

Employer groups largely welcomed the direction while flagging cost pressures. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief executive, said delivering on Milburn's recommendations "will depend on creating the conditions for businesses to grow, invest and create the jobs young people need".

Fitzgerald put the stakes in hard numbers. "Britain does not have a motivation problem among its young workforce. It has a first-opportunity problem," he said, noting that young people are already "working unpaid to gain experience and teaching themselves skills in areas like AI". He warned: "The cost of giving someone a first chance is rising. A full-time hire now costs employers 10% more than it did 12 months ago, meaning businesses are less likely to take a chance on a young person."

Much of the wider business reaction centred on social care. Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, backed a better-funded universal care service but cautioned that integration "will not, on its own" save money. Shazia Ejaz, director of campaigns at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, urged a "partnership approach with the private sector" on care-service staffing.

With Milburn's Neets report landing shortly, employers and young jobseekers alike will be watching whether the promised placements, apprenticeships and welfare funding translate into funded programmes rather than conference rhetoric.