Business led skills programmes can bring careers to life for young people, says UK's largest airports group

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” – a question most of us were asked when we were young.

But what informs our answers? Usually, a combination of our surrounding environment and imagination that conjures up an image of what our adult lives might look like.

It is difficult to aspire to a career that you don't know exists and not everyone comes from a background that gives them exposure to the wide range of jobs they could one day have.

 So how do we create a world in which everyone has an equal chance to pursue a career that excites them?

At MAG, we believe in the adage that “you need to see it to believe it”. Few industries can capture the imagination quite like aviation, with its operational buzz and sense of helping people experience new things around the world. As a major employer in the regions we serve, we have a responsibility to offer real-life experiences. We believe in the power of grassroots engagement - creating opportunities all the way from classroom to boardroom - to build future talent pipelines.

And this responsibility has never been more important.

The recent Milburn Review highlighted what it described as a systemic failure that has left almost one million young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET), which could cost the UK up to £125bn annually.

The report brought fresh attention to one of the UK's most pressing social and economic challenges and reinforced why tackling economic inactivity has become one of the Government's highest priorities. More young people need clear routes into education, skills and employment if the UK is to realise its growth ambitions and build the workforce required for the future.

 We believe business has a critical role to play in the solution. They should not underestimate how transformative a single experience can be in the life of a young person – whether that is a conversation, a mentor, a workplace visit or an opportunity to gain real-world experience.

 For more than a decade, we have invested in what in our view is one of the most comprehensive, employer-led education and employment programmes in the UK.  

Working alongside schools, colleges, local authorities, charities and the Department for Work and Pensions, we have built clear pathways that take young people from inspiration and education through to training and employment. That means we provide pathways for those who follow a traditional path – but we also support those who are harder to reach.

We support people at every stage of their journey into work, from inspiring young people through free aviation learning experiences at our Aerozones to providing pathways into employment through work experience, apprenticeships and specialist training. Through our Airport Academies, Stansted Airport College and the Manchester Airport Skills Hub, we help people of all ages build skills, confidence and careers in aviation and beyond.

The impact of this approach is tangible. Since 2020, MAG's skills and employment programmes have supported more than 52,000 jobseekers, and in the last year alone, we supported more than 350 young people classified as NEET through our pre-employment programmes.

Through our Airport Academies, we train 900 jobseekers every year, helping prepare them for live vacancies across our airport campuses and wider industry. Last year over 60% of the learners secured a job with MAG or one of our partners. These outcomes show how employer-led interventions can make a meaningful contribution to addressing economic inactivity while creating future talent pipelines for growth sectors such as aviation.

These are mutually beneficial partnerships. They create the talent pipelines our business needs to thrive, but they are also powerful mechanisms for social mobility.

At a time when reducing the number of young people who are NEET has become a national priority, creating accessible routes into aviation careers is both socially responsible and strategically essential.

By connecting people to real employment opportunities, we are building a long-term talent pipeline which supports the long-term growth of our airports and helps address labour market challenges - all while unlocking potential that might otherwise be lost.

The Milburn Review is a reminder of the responsibility businesses have to inspire and create clear pathways for as many young people as possible. If only a small percentage of those young people can answer that perennial question – “what do you want to be when you grow up?” – with confidence and ambition, then thousands of lives could be changed through the opportunities our sector provides.