By Marie Clare Tully, Chief Executive, Columba 1400

A recent Government Report tells a stark story: more than one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Behind that figure are young people facing tough realities. Many feel unseen, unheard, and uncertain about their future. There is growing talk of a ‘lost generation’.

But at Columba 1400, we see potential in every young person. Our experience, over 25 years, has shown us that when a young person begins to feel that they matter, when they are listened to, understood and supported, everything can change. This is why prevention matters. Not as a policy ambition, but as a human one.

If we are serious about preventing young people from becoming NEET, we must begin earlier – by strengthening the conditions that help young people to stay connected, to feel a sense of belonging, and to believe in their own potential. This is the focus of our Young People’s Leadership Academies.

At Columba 1400, we begin with values. We create space for young people to reflect on who they are, what matters to them, and what they are capable of achieving. We invest in relationships, in self-awareness, and in the confidence that comes from being truly seen and heard.

Through our Young People’s Leadership Academies – including a residential element at our purpose-built Community and International Leadership Centre in Staffin on the Isle of Skye, and sustained support alongside key adults in their lives – young people begin to see themselves differently.

They develop a stronger sense of identity and self-worth. They build confidence and resilience. They discover the skills that are already there, and so they reconnect with learning and with possibility. It is then that they begin to lead in their schools, their families and their communities. These are not ‘soft’ outcomes. They are foundational.

We know that being NEET is not simply about education or employment. It is closely linked to wellbeing, mental health and life chances. We also know that the challenges contributing to rising NEET numbers – poverty, inequality, disconnection from systems – are complex. This is why our work is deeply relational.

Young people do not disengage purely because of a lack of opportunity. They disengage when they lose a sense of belonging, of purpose, of hope – which are the key feelings that values-based leadership seeks to strengthen.

At Columba 1400, we work not only with young people, but with the key adults in their lives – teachers, parents, social workers, third sector partners, local authority teams, and community leaders, because real lasting change happens one on one, one by one, and thenin partnership.

This is not a challenge that any one organisation can solve alone. Through our Local Authority partnerships across schools, communities, public services and beyond, we have discovered it requires a shared commitment to early intervention, to collaboration, and to creating environments where young people can thrive.

If we focus only on pathways, targets or outcomes, we risk missing the most important part of the picture. Every young person we work alongside reminds us that when you invest in their potential, give them the opportunity to discover their values, and sense of who they really are and could yet become – you do more than change their direction, you change how they see themselves, their schools and their communities – and when that shift happens, new possibilities emerge.

We cannot accept a ‘lost generation’. We must actively choose a different path – one that recognises potential early, invests in relationships, and creates the conditions for change, enabling young people to lead lives of purpose, meaning and contribution.

That is where real, lasting change begins – one young person, one relationship, one community at a time.