Youth unemployment in the UK has reached a decade high of 15.3%. With nearly one million young people now classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), the "Whitehall Sources" team dives deep into why the system is failing and how one entrepreneur turned the worst-performing school in Derbyshire into a blueprint for national success.

In this episode, Calum Macdonald and Jo Tanner are joined by business journalist Ruth Sunderland and entrepreneur Christopher Nieper. They discuss the human cost of the NEET crisis, the "scandal" of forgotten towns, and why the UK education system needs to stop being an "exam factory" and start focusing on employability.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the number of NEETs has surged 50% in just five years.
• The incredible story of the David Nieper Academy and its "zero NEET" achievement.
• Why businesses are hesitant to hire young people (and the rising costs of doing so).
• The "Skills Tax Incentive": A solution that could gain the Treasury £23 billion.
• The impact of mobile phone bans and mental health resilience in schools.

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