Any national plan to cut the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training must include outdoor education, says Field Studies Council.
The UK charity, which has connected millions of young people to nature through scholarships, apprenticeships, government-funded projects, fieldwork, school residentials and adventure learning, says learning outdoors gives young people the confidence, skills and resilience they need to take their first steps into work and it must form part of the government’s solution.
The comments come ahead of Alan Milburn’s final Young People and Work review recommendations later this autumn.
Milburn’s interim findings put the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are NEET at more than one million, with forecasts suggesting this could reach 1.25 million within five years at an estimated cost of £125 billion a year.
Yet around 84 per cent of those young people want to work or train. Milburn described the problem as a “whole-system failure” rather than a lack of ambition.
Mark Castle, Chief Executive of the Field Studies Council, said: “Most of the young people we work with want to get on. What many have lost is their connection to learning and their belief in themselves. When they take on a real challenge outdoors, they find out what they can do. That confidence goes with them into training and work.
“There isn’t a subject on the curriculum that can’t be enhanced by learning outdoors. The same experience can deliver curriculum outcomes, build employability skills and support wellbeing, which is the joined-up approach Milburn says is missing.
“Outdoor learning tackles several of the barriers the review identifies at once. Learning in and about nature can re-engage young people who struggle in a traditional classroom, rebuild confidence and reduce anxiety. It also relies on trusted adults and peers working together, which matters in a system Milburn described as fragmented and impersonal.
“Outdoor learning needs to move from the margins to the mainstream, as an entitlement rather than an optional extra. Yes, it will cost, but if we are serious about tackling the financial and social cost of rising NEET numbers, bold action is needed and outdoor education needs to be central to the solution.”
The charity has already seen first-hand the impact that outdoor learning can have on those at risk of becoming NEET. A project in Shropshire, which brought secondary pupils at risk of exclusion to its Preston Montford field centre near Shrewsbury for regular weekly sessions in conservation and adventure activities significantly increased attendance among the students taking part. Some also went onto explore work placements linked to the interests they had experienced during the sessions.
The charity also directly supports young people into the workplace through its annual Young Darwin Scholarship programme demonstrating that outdoor learning experiences can also lead straight into a career.
Since 2012, the charity’s subsidised programme has supported more than 450 young people aged 16 to 25 to develop practical fieldwork, ecology and environmental science skills. In 2025, 35 scholars attended courses at eight locations across England, Wales, and Scotland.
Kelsie Cooling took part in the scholarship in 2024, completed a traineeship with the charity and is now a tutor at its Epping Forest centre, where she has since taught the next group of scholars.
She said: “Coming from a music degree and a primary teaching qualification, I struggled getting a job which allowed me to work outdoors, as many organisations specify the need for a science degree. Having the Young Darwin Scholarship network around has helped me feel supported going into my job as a trainee tutor, and now as a full-time tutor.”
With a network of outdoor education centres across the UK and more than 80 years’ experience, the charity designs its adventure learning programmes to build knowledge and transferable skills such as teamwork and communication.
It has been a delivery partner on government-funded projects including Nature Friendly Schools and Generation Green 1 and 2, which have shown time and again that outdoor learning works.
Through Generation Green 2 alone, it welcomed nearly 4,000 young people from some of England’s most disadvantaged areas to its field centres.
It wants the government to stop its piecemeal funding of outdoor education and to start joining the dots with its policies and claims
For more information about the Field Studies Council visit https://www.field-studies-council.org/
