Two birds with one stone: how transport planning can help address the NEET challenge and deliver economic growth

Much has been written recently about the rise in young people who are not in education, employment or training – otherwise known as NEETs. Alan Milburn's latest report adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that youth economic inactivity is becoming one of the UK's most pressing social and economic challenges. While the statistics themselves are concerning, what struck me most was the disconnect at the heart of the issue. At a time when many employers are struggling to recruit, significant numbers of young people are struggling to find a route into meaningful work. That raises an important question – how can both things be true at once?

 

Part of the answer lies in the gap between the careers the economy needs people to pursue and the careers that young people know exist. Across a range of sectors there are skills shortages, ageing workforces and concerns about future capacity. Yet many of these professions remain largely invisible to those entering the labour market. Transport planning is a good example.

 

Most people do not grow up aspiring to become transport planners. Indeed, many young people will never have encountered the profession at all. Yet transport planners help shape some of the most important decisions affecting our communities, our economy, and our environment. They influence where homes are built, how people access jobs and education, how town centres evolve, and how we respond to challenges such as congestion, climate change, and inequality.

 

At the same time, transport planning is facing a challenge of its own. Across local authorities, consultancies, transport operators and government bodies, demand for transport planning skills continues to grow. That should come as little surprise. Infrastructure investment sits at the heart of the Government's ambitions for economic growth, housing delivery, improved connectivity and decarbonisation. Transport has a critical role to play in all those objectives, providing the connections that enable people, places, and economies to thrive.

 

Yet while expectations of the profession continue to increase, the pipeline of new entrants is not keeping pace. Skills shortages have been a recurring concern for many years, and the challenge is likely to become more acute as experienced practitioners retire over the coming decade. At precisely the moment the country is asking more of transport planning, there are growing questions about where the next generation of professionals will come from.

This matters because infrastructure delivery ultimately depends on people. Discussions about transport investment often focus on funding, political priorities or planning reform. All those issues are important, but projects still need skilled professionals to develop business cases, engage communities, assess impacts and turn ambitions into deliverable schemes. Without sufficient capacity, delivery becomes slower and more difficult, regardless of how strong the policy or investment commitment may be.

 

This is where the conversation about youth economic inactivity and the future of transport planning begin to overlap. If we are looking for ways to connect more young people to rewarding careers while simultaneously addressing genuine skills shortages, then transport planning presents a compelling opportunity. It is a profession that combines technical expertise with creativity and problem-solving. It offers the chance to work on projects that have a tangible impact on people's lives, whether through supporting economic growth, improving accessibility, or helping to deliver a more sustainable transport system.

 

Importantly, there are now more routes into the profession than ever before. Alongside traditional graduate pathways, apprenticeships and vocational routes are creating opportunities for a wider range of people to enter the sector. Organisations such as the Transport Planning Society are helping to support that journey through professional qualifications, mentoring and structured career development, making it easier for individuals to build long-term careers within the profession.

 

However, there is still more to do. Careers in transport planning remain underrepresented within schools, colleges and careers advice services. If we are serious about tackling economic inactivity among young people, we need to broaden awareness of the professions that are actively seeking talent. Equally, if we are serious about delivering the transport infrastructure needed to support economic growth and decarbonisation, we need to invest in developing the workforce that will make those ambitions a reality.

 

The UK's NEET challenge and the transport planning profession's skills shortage are not the same problem, but they are more closely connected than they might first appear. Creating clearer pathways into transport planning will not solve youth economic inactivity on its own, nor will it eliminate the profession's skills challenges overnight. What it can do is contribute to addressing both. At a time when the country is searching for practical solutions to complex problems, helping more young people discover and enter careers that genuinely need them seems like a sensible place to start.