Why hiring young people now is a smart move

Many employers are pulling back on entry-level hiring. In a May 2026 survey for Lancaster University's Work Foundation, 36% of UK employers said they had cut entry-level roles in the past year. Rising employment costs and automation are the reasons most often given.

That is understandable. It also creates an opening. If the businesses around you are hiring fewer young people, the ones who do can choose from a strong pool and build loyalty early. And some of the costs are lower than people assume.

What a young hire actually costs

Pay

From 1 April 2026 the National Minimum Wage is £12.71 an hour for 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20, and £8.00 for 16 and 17. The apprentice rate is also £8.00 an hour, for apprentices under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship. These are legal minimums; many good employers pay more, and young people notice.

Employer National Insurance

This is the part many small businesses miss. Employers pay no employer National Insurance on the earnings of:

employees under 21, and
apprentices under 25,

on earnings up to £50,270 a year. HM Treasury has confirmed these reliefs in Parliament. For most entry-level roles that means no employer NI at all. Your payroll provider applies it with the right NI category letter (M for under-21s, H for apprentices under 25).

Apprenticeship training

For apprenticeships, the government funds most or all of the training cost for smaller employers, and there are additional incentive payments for taking on young apprentices. The rules changed for apprenticeships starting from August 2026 and depend on the apprentice's age and your size, so check the current apprenticeship funding rules or ask a training provider, who will usually handle the paperwork for you.

What you get

People who want to learn your way. No bad habits from previous jobs.
Loyalty. Being someone's first employer is memorable. Treat people well and they stay, and they talk.
Fresh energy and digital confidence. Useful in customer-facing roles and increasingly in every role.
A pipeline. Today's weekend barista is next year's shift supervisor.
A view of your customers. Many local businesses serve young people. Having them on the team helps you understand what those customers want, how they find you and what puts them off.

There is also a wider reason. Around 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training in April to June 2026. A first job is often what turns that around.

What to get right

Hiring young people well is mostly about a few basics.

Know the young worker rules

If you hire 16 and 17 year olds, extra rules apply: they can usually work no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, need a 30-minute break if they work more than four and a half hours, and have restrictions on night work. Acas sets them out clearly. You also need to consider young workers specifically in your risk assessment.

Recruit for potential, not experience

Most young applicants have little formal experience. In the Youth Voice Census, over half of young people named it as their biggest barrier. Ask about what they have done: sport, caring, volunteering, side projects. Look for reliability, attitude and how they talk about learning.

Make the first two weeks count

A named person to go to with questions.
A simple written list of what good looks like in the role.
Short, specific feedback early on: what they did well, and one thing to work on.

Keep it fair and open

Advertise roles as open to everyone and describe the job, not the age of the person you imagine doing it. Age-restricted adverts can breach the Equality Act. A platform built for young people can still welcome anyone.

A simple first-hire checklist

Before you advertise:

Decide the hours and check they work for the age group you hope to attract (school and college timetables matter).
Set the pay at or above the minimum for the age bands you might hire, and say it in the advert.
Write down the three things the role really needs, and drop anything that does not matter.
Check whether an apprenticeship would suit the role, and speak to a local training provider.

When you hire:

Check right to work before they start (you must do this for every employee, of any age).
Update your risk assessment if they are under 18.
Set up payroll with the right National Insurance category so the relief applies.

In the first month:

Name a buddy or supervisor.
Give specific feedback in the first week, not just at the end of a probation period.
Ask them how it is going, and listen.

What Jobsee is doing about it

Jobsee is built to make hiring young people easier for small and local employers.

Complete, relevant applications. Every applicant arrives with their availability, the certificates and checks your sector needs, answers to your screening questions and a short note in their own words. No chasing for the basics.
Less noise. You can add a required question to any job and see availability before you open an application.
Safety built in. Employers are verified before they post, and extra protections apply for under-18s.
Founding Employers. In our Wrexham pilot, Founding Employers post for free during the introductory period, and we will help you get your first roles live.

If you hire in hospitality, care, retail, the trades, leisure or childcare in Wrexham or nearby, register as a Founding Employer.