In early 2026, over one million young people aged 16–24 in the UK were classified as NEET — Not in Education, Employment or Training. This is not a skills gap. It is a structural failure. And the arrival of Physical AI makes it both more urgent and more solvable than ever before.
Behind every statistic is a young person whose potential is being wasted — and whose exclusion costs the economy, the NHS, and society far more than the cost of inclusion. Understanding this population is the first step to building pathways back in.
The surge in NEET rates is not a post-pandemic blip. It reflects deep structural fractures that physical AI and smart machines have the potential to either worsen or heal — depending on who is in the room when the decisions are made.
A dramatic post-pandemic increase in work-limiting health conditions — especially mental health — is the single biggest driver of rising economic inactivity among young people. Long COVID, anxiety, and neurodivergence are reshaping the labour market in ways policy has not yet caught up with.
Primary driver since 2020COVID-19 disrupted schooling at a formative moment. The decline of the "Saturday job" as an entry-level pathway removed a crucial first step. Employers increasingly demand prior experience that school-leavers cannot have, creating a Catch-22 that excludes the most vulnerable.
Compounding since 2020The Alan Milburn-led review (2026) focuses on pre-18 school disengagement, job guarantees for young disabled people, and targeted support. The Government has committed to "thousands" of guaranteed jobs for young disabled people — but implementation lags urgency.
Milburn Review · Sept 2026The intersection of mental health, disability and NEET status is the defining policy challenge of this decade. FSM's People First lens places this intersection at the heart of how we evaluate Physical AI adoption.
Physical AI and smart machines are not simply a threat to jobs. Designed with a People First mandate, they create new roles, new training pathways, and new forms of accessible work that existing labour market structures cannot offer. The question is not whether AI will reshape youth employment — it will. The question is who benefits.
Operating, maintaining, and training AI-assisted tools opens non-physical, cognitively accessible roles for young people with mobility or sensory disabilities. Care robotics operators, exoskeleton support technicians, and AI interface coordinators are emerging job categories.
Collaborative robots (cobots) working alongside humans reduce physical demands and enable workers with strength or stamina limitations to participate in manufacturing. SME adoption of cobots — a key FSM workstream — creates entry-level roles suited to young people returning from health-related absence.
Personalised, AI-driven training platforms adapt to learning differences, pacing, and accessibility needs. Young people who were failed by one-size-fits-all schooling can access technical credentials via micro-qualifications aligned to real robotics deployment roles.
Physical AI adoption is concentrated in London and the South East. FSM's APPG Robotics tracks whether gains reach post-industrial regions where NEET rates are highest. Targeted regional deployment of smart machines — with local training — can revitalise communities left behind by deindustrialisation.
FSM tracks whether Physical AI deployment is creating accessible pathways for young people — or widening existing gaps. This dashboard reflects our current assessment across key dimensions.
FSM internal assessment, Q4 2026. Based on published data and stakeholder consultation. Tracked annually.
The NEET crisis and Physical AI adoption are not separate agendas. FSM bridges them — ensuring that robotics policy, industry practice, and investment decisions are accountable to the young people most at risk of being left behind.
FSM's 8 Pillars framework explicitly tracks whether AI adoption improves or worsens youth employment prospects — with disabled and NEET young people as primary beneficiaries of our advocacy.
All 9 APPG Robotics workstreams are assessed for NEET impact. Healthcare/assistive robotics and Education/Skills workstreams have formal youth employment metrics built in.
IIA's partnership with Getech places robotics training in UK schools — targeting areas with highest NEET rates — building the pipeline of young people ready for Physical AI roles before they leave education.
FSM engages with DWP's guaranteed jobs initiative to ensure Physical AI employers are included — and that accessibility requirements are embedded in any robotics-sector job guarantee scheme.
We are the independent body that doesn't yet exist — tracking whether £150bn of Physical AI growth actually reaches young people, disabled people, and disadvantaged communities.
IIA's emerging Care Robotics concept — PIP-funded assistive robots with insurance float — creates supported employment pathways specifically for young people with health conditions and disabilities.
Government, parliament, and independent reviewers are beginning to connect the dots between youth employment, disability, and automation. FSM is positioned to be the bridge between these policy conversations and the realities of Physical AI deployment.
The Government-commissioned review by Alan Milburn focuses on tackling pre-18 school disengagement, expanding job guarantees for disabled young people, and embedding flexible, accessible support. The review explicitly links rising economic inactivity to health and identifies automation as both a risk and an opportunity for NEET young people.
FSM's People First mandate means building the evidence, the advocacy, and the pathways now — before Physical AI locks in new forms of exclusion. Join us.