From hiring bias to workplace exclusion, discrimination and racism remain obstacles for young people of colour entering the labour market.

New research from the Runnymede Trust and Work Foundation at Lancaster University, funded by Youth Futures Foundation, hears from young people of colour who describe an ineffective education to employment pipeline.

Giving Young People a Chance details qualitative research conducted across 2024 and 2025 in Bradford, Leeds, Brent and Walsall with employers, local stakeholders, and young people. The research explored the opportunities and challenges employers face in addressing the recruitment and retention of young people and tackling ethnic disparities, as well as the systemic challenges that young people face when trying to find employment.

Some employers told the researchers that young people turn up unprepared for the world of work. But young people described a different story, identifying challenges including patchy and generic career advice and entry-level roles asking for a disproportionate amount of experience. Some young people were able to find routes into their desired profession through their networks and family connections, but people without such connections described struggling to get a foot in the door. 

Key findings include:

• ‘Work readiness’: While some employers and stakeholders shared concerns about young people’s ‘work readiness’, young people identified several challenges about finding work. These included a perceived disconnect between education and employment, disproportionate skills and experience requirements for entry level roles, a lack of support to navigate key transition points, and mental health challenges.
• Fair hiring and employment: Young people expressed concerns around local employers not investing in young people and reported receiving limited feedback on applications. There were also frequent reports of workplace discrimination.One participant described being treated with suspicion by security guards when he walked into a shopping mall to hand out his CV. He has never done it again.
• Giving young people a chance: Discussions focused on reimagining how employers run their recruitment processes in ways that are inclusive and recognise potential. This included looking holistically at the main actors in the employment system – including employers, education providers, policymakers, funders, community organisations, and other local partners – to ensure that they can provide consistent and joined-up support for young people.

Despite these challenges, the young people who participated in this research were proactive in their search for employment, motivated to succeed, and clear about the changes they wanted to see. As one young participant summed up: “to close the employment gap, we must first close the confidence gap, the aspiration gap, and then the opportunity gap.” Several employers were also working to make their recruitment processes fairer and more inclusive, and to support young people to develop skills for work.  

The report suggests practical action for employers, schools, funders and policymakers, including:

• Clear communication standards for recruiters, with response times and basic feedback for interviewed candidates
• Assessment methods that let young people show potential, such as work trials and project-based tasks
• Monitoring who applies, who is shortlisted and who is hired by ethnicity and local residence, with full transparency about why the data is collected
• Anti-discrimination commitments in recruitment policy that carry real consequences, backed by training for managers and panels
• Multi-year funding for voluntary and community organisations working as core partners in youth employability
• Regular, sustained employer engagement with schools and youth groups, not one-off careers fairs

Dr Shabna Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, said:

At a time when the conversation around fair employment is hijacked by vexatious interrogations of EDI initiatives, this report is a sobering reminder that young people of colour are not experiencing the so-called benefits of ‘diversity hires’, but are facing multiple blockers to gaining employment which stalls their careers.

"This report provides a careful and close insight to the ways in which gaps in the education and careers system, employers’ ability to fairly determine ‘work readiness’, and racist discrimination can compound and entrench pre-existing structural disadvantages. Giving Young People A Chance is an invitation to broaden the conversation around NEETs to address these systemic inequities and unlock the potential that is otherwise wasted by a generic approach.”

Nishi Mayor, Director of Employer Engagement & Partnerships, Youth Futures Foundation said:

This research provides a rich picture of the barriers that too many young people from Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds still face when moving into work. It also shines a light on their resilience, ambition and potential.

"Young people are clear about what they need: fair opportunities, transparent recruitment processes and workplaces where they feel valued and able to succeed. By listening to their experiences and acting on the evidence, employers, educators and policymakers can help create a labour market where every young person has the opportunity to thrive.”

Asli Atay, Senior Policy Advisor, Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said:

Young people from Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds face overlapping barriers to work such as discrimination in recruitment, unequal access to networks and, in some areas, a shortage of good jobs.

“Work readiness is not the only factor preventing young people from being hired. Our research highlights the need for employers to recruit for potential, tackle bias, remove unnecessary experience requirements and build stronger links with local communities. With the Milburn Review due to report next week, the Government must confront these structural inequalities head-on. Improving employment support matters, but so does creating more starter jobs in places where opportunities are scarce, and ensuring employers give young people a fair chance.”