Supporting young people with the tools they need to lead successful lives
Since we founded SOFEA in 2014 we have supported hundreds of disempowered young people with the tools they need to lead successful lives.
Our solution works and it needs resources and investment to scale.
- Many young people in our communities struggle to make the leap from school to work.
- They face barriers including poor mental health, low attainment, lack of family support, neurodivergence and often in combination.
- For some disengagement starts early, with low school attendance, while others complete secondary school and then find it difficult to progress.
- The more disadvantages they face, the harder it is to navigate further/higher education, training and recruitment.
Faced with this, many lose hope and simply ‘opt out’ becoming economically inactive. As Andy Burnham said ‘an economic catastrophe and a moral failure’.
‘A young person growing up with low attainment, poor health and limited family resources faces a materially higher likelihood of becoming NEET’ – Alan Milburn 2026.
This is a tragedy, especially in Oxfordshire, because at the same time there are significant labour shortages in foundation roles.
In Oxfordshire
Young people say:
- The jobs seem inaccessible.
- They don’t know what companies actually do.
- They lack professional networks.
- Transport remains a barrier.
- Many don’t see themselves working in science and technology environments.
Employers say:
- They cannot recruit enough people.
- Young people often lack workplace experience.
- Apprenticeship recruitment is challenging.
- Technical pathways are fragmented.
Neale Coleman’s Interim Oxford Growth Commission Report is clear that labour shortages persist, especially in roles in the Foundation Economy such as Hospitality, Care, Logistics and Construction.
These jobs are foundational – for young people, the employer and the local economy.
- For the young person their first job builds strong foundations to begin a working life, with the behaviours, attitudes and mindsets to do well, develop and progress.
- For the employer the foundations are set to recruit, retain and develop an employee who will stay for the long term and be committed to the business.
- For the local economy this provides employees into ‘entry level’ jobs, many of which will be serving the needs of the local economy and community and allowing the wider economy to thrive.
What needs to be done?
By bringing together SOFEA’s expertise and network of partners across Education, Health, Social Services, Police, DWO and Local Government we can harness existing networks in Oxfordshire and mobilise them around a joined up approach. We really can close the gap.
The SOFEA Pathway
Working with Young People: The Supply Side
Young People’s Needs have changed:
- Many young people are not actively seeking work and are economically inactive
- Mental health concerns are real and pervasive
- We cannot rely on matching a pool of unemployed labour to suitable vacancies, simply by working on CVs, job search and interview practice, although these things are important.
SOFEA supports young people by:
- Providing a therapeutic environment to focus on behaviours, attitudes and mindsets
- Providing purpose and skills through real work experience in our food distribution programme
- Providing another opportunity to gain Maths and English GCSEs
- Introducing young people to employers and supporting them through and beyond the recruitment process
The Demand Side
The Labour Market has changed
- Fewer industries have ‘entry level jobs’
- Apprenticeship starts for 16-18 year olds are very low
- The ‘Saturday job’ doesn’t really exist anymore
- Taking on young people (especially disadvantaged groups) is seen as risky
- Cost to recruit is high
SOFEA can help employers:
- Encouraging employers to be inclusive and become disability confident and better equipped to support neurodiverse employees
- Making recruitment processes easier to navigate, so good candidates can get through and they don’t cause further loss of confidence
- Better induction and training to focus on the longer term potential of the individual
- In work support, working alongside employers to provide light touch support, especially to the young person’s line manager and young person themselves through their early stages at work, leading to a higher chance of success
Appendix 1: Young People and Work – Interim Report (Milburn May 2026), highlights the issues related to youth disengagement and unemployment:
- ‘Britain is producing NEET young people at scale, not through bad luck or individual failure, but through the steady accumulation of disadvantage that the system has failed to interrupt.
- The majority are economically inactive rather than unemployed. And for those who become NEET early, the likelihood of remaining so increases sharply over time.
- These risks are not evenly distributed. A young person growing up with low attainment, poor health and limited family resources faces a materially higher likelihood of becoming NEET. Place reinforces that divide.’
The recommendations will follow, but are likely to include:
- Stronger careers education and guidance
- Expansion of work based learning
- Better support for health and wellbeing
- Targeted support for those disadvantaged
- View mental health as an employability issue
- Clear, joined up national strategy, involving all stakeholders including employers
Appendix 2: SOFEA’s Impact
- Supported 341 individuals, 70% made progress towards the labour market
- Provided a full time education programme for 95 young people, gaining an average of one grade improvement in their GCSEs and making positive progressions from the programme.
- Worked with 468 individuals, providing therapeutic support and referring 352 people to further health related support
- Gave 494 people, facing digital exclusion, refurbished laptops from our Getting Oxfordshire Online programme
- Directly employed 30 young people who have progressed from SOFEA’s own programmes, mostly in roles related to our food redistribution operation, distributing the equivalent of 4.83 million meals.
For further details: www.sofea.uk.com