Since COVID, 850,000 people in the UK withdrew from the active labour market. This massive rise in economic inactivity has happened at the same time that policy has tightened controls on hiring overseas workers, and the UK’s further and adult education system has been squeezed by budget cuts and inflexibilities (prior to 2026).

I did a deep dive on economic inactivity in a UK region last year as part of my advisory role with Skills Development Scotland – and here’s what I found…

❌ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: 𝗪𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁. 99% of clients in one employability program I explored had mental health challenges. Most people that have been economically inactive for > 1 year have multiple, interconnected barriers – such as health issues, caring responsibilities, language barriers, unrecognized overseas qualifications, lack of transport.

✓ What Actually Works: The person-centered, case-worker approach isn’t just good practice – it’s the ONLY approach that delivers results. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩: 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.

Three critical insights from practitioners on the ground:

𝟭. **𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗡𝗢𝗪.** Many adults can’t afford lengthy formal education. Shorter, intensive, vocational training close to employer needs gets results. 9-5 courses for 52 weeks don’t work for someone managing childcare, health issues, or just trying to keep the lights on. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.

𝟮. **𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁.** Case workers struggle to navigate options for their clients. If the professionals can’t figure it out, how can we expect a single parent with mental health challenges and limited English to access the right support?

𝟯. **𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 – 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁.** Research shows 9 in 10 UK employers SAY everyone should reach their potential. But only 3 in 10 offer development opportunities based on individual need rather than immediate business value.

These are the kinds of insights I’ve built into my new book, and economic development community – check it out at http://www.economicdevelopment.world

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