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“It's all a bit crap really, just feels like there is no future for young people” Lack of opportunities for young people in Kent and Medway
Healthwatch Kent and Healthwatch Medway spoke to 76 young people aged 10-24 through our place-based (engagement to understand how the environment affects residents’ health and wellbeing) and targeted young people engagement between February 2026 and September 2026.
One of the top concerns shared with us was a lack of opportunities for young people across the county, with 39% of young people we spoke to mentioning either a lack of job opportunities or a lack of social opportunities. 70% of those raising such concerns were students, unemployed or Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
Lack of job opportunities
“I feel lucky to have a job. There aren’t many jobs for people my age. Working here’s been good for me. It’s helped my confidence talking to people and it’s nice earning your own money. Most of my friends are either going to college or looking for apprenticeships. Some of them are worried about not finding something they want to do. I’m glad I’ve got a plan.”
“I have given my CV into really every shop and café on the High Street. Poundland told me they only employ people with experience of retail. I don’t know how you get experience if you can’t get a job.”
“[There’s] not that much for us to do and it’s really hard to find jobs, you just don't hear back from anything you apply to so I'm not sure what the point is. I struggled to apply for jobs with all the steps you have to go through.”
Lack of social opportunities
People who mentioned a lack of social opportunities told us there’s ‘nothing to do’ in their community. Many young people shared concerns that boredom and a perceived lack of opportunities could contribute to anti-social behaviour in the community.
“There is nothing to do for the ‘inbetweeners’. I’m 17, so I can’t go to the pub. Not that I want to, but there seems to be things for under 16’s, then for the over 18’s. We’re forgotten. No wonder we spend all our time watching tv and on our phones.”
“There isn't a lot to do for young people, and there is barely any signposting for when there actually are things on. Regular young people can't find anything to do, and they don't know where to start, so they get bored and start trouble.”
“If you're under 18 there's nothing for people to do. No wonder they end up doing drugs”
In June 2026, EK360 also asked members of our Voices Connect panel how they would rate the amount of groups and services available for young people in their local area. 46 people responded, and almost two-thirds (63%) said that there were little to no opportunities for young people. A further 22% felt there could be more opportunities, and only 15% believed there was a good variety of provision available.
In their interim report about young people and work, the Department for Work and Pensions highlight that employers want to do more to address the NEET crisis, however they are concerned that the younger generation is less ‘work-ready’, with young people arriving “in the workplace with anxiety, low confidence and, in some cases, health needs employers do not feel equipped to support. A large employer may be able to absorb that. A small firm often cannot. The result is caution. The safer hire is the older worker with experience. The young person with potential but no track record loses out.”
Research has found that social bonds and feeling connected with families, schools, peers and communities has a positive impact on self-esteem and socioeconomic outcomes later in life. Another study suggests that opportunities to develop social connections is a factor for improving mental health for young people. 27% of young people we spoke to who mentioned a lack of social opportunity also told us they have a mental health issue. While our findings cannot establish whether limited social opportunities affect mental health or readiness for work, the evidence available suggests that these issues may overlap, and without opportunities to socialise and develop connections within the local community, young people in Kent and Medway may be missing out on developing the confidence and the interpersonal skills needed to be considered ‘work-ready’ and secure employment.
With Kent County Council and Medway Council’s work focusing on the Marmot principles, particularly the need to “enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives”, the links between social opportunity and employment may warrant further exploration to address the level of NEET young people across Kent and Medway.
Young people we spoke to did not only tell us their concerns about number of opportunities available, they also highlighted a number of other barriers including; difficulty finding out what is available, lack of communication, experience requirements for jobs and complicated application processes. These barriers may contribute to the perception of a lack of opportunities. Accessibility of opportunities is also an important factor, as 43% of young people who mentioned lack of social or employment opportunities told us they were disabled or neurodivergent. This suggests there is a need to consider how opportunities are designed, shared and accessed, as well as the amount of opportunities that exist for young people across Kent and Medway.
Bias and Limitations
Young people we spoke to were those who were available and willing to speak to us at the time and location of each engagement event. The data is taken from place-based engagement in Kent and Medway, and targeted youth engagement in Medway. Due to the targeted engagement in Medway, the data is slightly skewed towards young people living in Medway. Therefore, the sample is not representative of all young people aged 10-24 in Kent and Medway. These findings should therefore be interpreted as indicative trends rather than conclusive evidence.
