Report on understanding the main opportunities and barriers to SME engagement with the youth labour market

Providing employment opportunities to young people between the ages of 16 and 24 is critical to improving their economic prospects, economic growth and social cohesion more broadly, and it necessitates looking more closely at the role that SMEs can and do play in filling this gap. A study commissioned by the EY Foundation found that while SMEs are destinations for young people, a number of perceived barriers stand in the way of these businesses engaging more fully with the youth labour market. Improving employment prospects for young people will depend on addressing these barriers.