Local funding flows for youth employment and skills
This report commissioned by the Youth Futures Foundation identifies, describes and maps the flows of national, sub-national, local and international sources of funding to ten local Connected Futures areas for young people’s employment and skills in England, with a particular focus on funding targeting marginalised young people.
There are local variations in access to funding but across all places integrated and flexible funding enabling provision of holistic services to support young people in transitioning successfully into the labour market needs to be prioritised.
The research involved a desk review of existing studies and data covering almost sixty funding sources relating to young people for national employment and skills related schemes or services, and interviews with key stakeholders in each local area, including Connected Futures partners and infrastructure and delivery organisations. The research was conducted between 2023 and 2025, with findings reflecting the context up to and during this period. The report summarises findings across the ten detailed case studies to identify key challenges faced by local organisations in securing funding for youth employment and skills activities.
We need funding systems that are sufficiently stable, flexible and responsive to local circumstances so that they can be organised, coordinated and aligned with the realities of young people's lives.
Meet the Authors
Abigail Taylor - Research Fellow II, City-REDI
Anne Green – Professor of Regional Economic Development, City-REDI
Charlotte Hoole - Research Fellow II, City-REDI
Maryna Ramcharan – Senior Policy & Data Analyst, City-REDI
Johannes Read - Senior Policy & Data Analyst, City-REDI
Scott Grindey – Principal Analyst (Skills), EIU
Sara Hassan – Research Fellow II, City-REDI
Reen Blake-Carr – formerly Analyst, City-REDI
Alice Pugh – Senior Economic Analyst, City-REDI
George Bramley – Principal Analyst, City-REDI