With nearly one million young people in the UK not in education, employment or training (NEET), the scale of the challenge facing 16–24‑year‑olds is impossible to ignore. The Office for National Statistics reports that around one in eight young people was NEET in 2025, a level that has remained persistently high despite improvements in the wider labour market.
Behind these figures are young people who want to work and learn but often lack access to practical experience, industry exposure, or the confidence to take their next step. At the same time, employers across engineering, technology, and green industries continue to report critical shortages in STEM skills. The gap between young people seeking opportunity and sectors urgently seeking talent has rarely been wider.
Amid these pressures, organisations like the Greenpower Education Trust are stepping up, tackling the challenges head‑on and showing how practical, hands‑on STEM experiences can transform young people’s futures.
Turning engineering into opportunity
Greenpower’s electric car challenge gives young people the chance to design, build, and race their own electric vehicles - a project that is exciting, ambitious, and deeply rooted in STEM learning. Through this process, participants gain:
These are precisely the skills employers say they struggle to find in early‑career applicants. For many young people, Greenpower is the first time they see how STEM subjects translate into real‑world careers, and the first time they feel those careers are genuinely within reach.
Just as importantly, the programme helps young people build confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging; qualities that are often the difference between disengagement and a future in STEM. As Barnabas Shelbourne, CEO of Greenpower, explains:
“When young people are trusted with ambitious, meaningful projects, they don’t just gain skills - they gain belief. They realise they have talent and potential that may never have been recognised before. Greenpower shows them that engineering, technology and green careers aren’t distant ideas. They’re real, exciting pathways that are open to them, and we’re here to help them take those first steps.”
Inspiring futures at a critical time
With NEET levels remaining high and STEM industries urgently seeking new talent, organisations like Greenpower offer a practical and positive way forward. By giving young people hands‑on experience, industry connections, and a clear sense of what a future career could look like, the programme helps bridge the gap between education and employment.
