One million young people. And too many invisible routes.
Right now, more than one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training. In Wales, the latest Welsh Government figures estimate that 17.0% of 16-to 24-year-olds were NEET in the year ending December 2025.
Those numbers are big, but they are not abstract. They are young people in our towns, valleys, cities and villages. Young people applying for jobs and hearing nothing back. Young people managing anxiety, ADHD, autism, caring responsibilities, trauma, low confidence, transport issues, or simply a lack of anyone nearby saying, "You could do this, and I can show you how."
The government calls it a crisis. I think many communities have known it for a long time.
That is why Fentro exists.
What does Fentro mean?
Fentro comes from the Welsh for venture.
That felt right because this work is about young people taking a step into something they cannot yet see. A first conversation. A first workplace. A first moment of realising, "Hang on, there might actually be something for me here."
A venture is not a polished five-year plan. It is a beginning. It is movement. It is the decision to go somewhere, even when the route has not been made obvious to you.
That is what Fentro is here for.
What is Fentro CIC?
Fentro CIC is a Welsh social enterprise helping young people who are NEET, not in education, employment, or training, find their spark and build a real career pathway from it.
We work with young people aged 16 to 25, especially those who have been labeled disengaged, hard to reach, not work-ready, or lacking direction. I have always found those labels a bit too convenient. They make the young person sound like the problem, when very often the problem is that nobody has found the right door for them yet.
Fentro is not a job club. It is not another CV workshop. It is not a room where a young person who loves gaming is told to "try IT" as if that is the whole insight. We start somewhere more human: what do they care about so much they lose track of time?
Football. Gaming. Beauty. Music. Cars. True crime. Fashion. Food. Fitness. Animals. Making things. Helping people. Those interests are not distractions from work. They can be the doorway into it.
Why did I start it?
This is personal for me.
I am a girl from the Rhondda Valleys. My grandad was a miner. In my early years, I grew up in a council house. I know what deprivation looks like when it is not a statistic in a report, but the street you live on, the choices people assume you have, and the quiet limits that get placed around your future before you are old enough to understand them.
I also know what it feels like to come from a place that is full of humour, grit, intelligence, loyalty and talent, but still be surrounded by systems that do not always know what to do with that talent.
That is the part that bothers me. Not just poverty itself, although that matters deeply. It is the way poverty can shrink the visible world. If you do not see certain careers, workplaces, people, or routes, it is very hard to imagine yourself inside them. Not because you lack ambition. Because imagination needs evidence.
Fentro exists to give young people that evidence.
Why now?
The House of Commons Library briefing published on 5 June 2026 reported that 1.01 million young people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training in January to March 2026. That was 13.5% of the age group, and the first time the number had gone above one million since 2013.
In Wales, the latest Welsh Government statistics estimate that 17.0% of 16-to 24-year-olds were NEET in the year ending December 2025. The same release shows a sharp issue for disabled young people, with 40.0% of disabled 19 to 24 year olds estimated to be NEET in the three-year period ending December 2025.
That is not a blip. It is a structural problem that has been building for years, accelerated by the pandemic, compounded by a mental health crisis, and made worse by a labour market that has quietly removed too many of the entry-level rungs from the career ladder.
And when those rungs disappear, the young people who already have the least access to networks, transport, confidence, work experience and visible role models are usually the first to fall through the gaps.
What do young people actually need?
Some young people need qualifications. Some need work experience. Some need mental health support. Some need a patient adult who does not give up after the first missed appointment. Some need an employer willing to see potential before polish.
But before all of that, many young people need context. They need to understand that the thing they already care about might connect to a world of work they have never been shown.
A young person obsessed with football might only see player or coach. We see sports science, data analysis, physiotherapy, kit design, marketing, media, grounds management, events, nutrition, safeguarding, community outreach and club operations. A young person who spends all day gaming might only hear adults call it a waste of time. We see game design, coding, UX, sound, esports, community management, QA testing, streaming, production and digital storytelling.
That is the Spark Model. We start with interest, then map the ecosystem around it. We show young people the hidden jobs, the real people, the routes in, and the next small step.
What does Fentro do?
Fentro works through interest-led career pathways, Discovery Days, employer partnerships, pre-employment support, research and practical referral routes for professionals.
Discovery Days are a big part of the model. They get young people into real workplaces and real industry settings, not to sit through a lecture, but to see that a future can be built from something they already care about. It is one thing to tell a young person there are jobs in sport, beauty, gaming, construction, media or tech. It is another thing to let them stand in the room, meet the people, ask awkward questions, and realise the door is not locked.
We also work with employers who want to build genuine talent pipelines, not just tick a social value box. Many employers want to help, but they need a better bridge. Fentro helps create that bridge so young people are supported and employers are not left guessing.
And we work with the adults already around young people: teachers, social workers, care homes, Jobcentre Plus teams, local authorities, community organisations and funders. Because no single organisation can solve youth disconnection alone. The work has to be joined up, or young people just get passed from one doorway to another.
Who is Fentro for?
Fentro is for young people aged 16 to 25 in Wales who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET.
It is for the young person who has potential but no obvious route. The one who has been written off as difficult when they are actually bored, anxious, overwhelmed, unsupported or in the wrong environment. The one who does not need another adult telling them to be realistic, but someone willing to make the future feel real.
It is also for the people trying to help them. The teacher who can see a student slipping away. The social worker looking for something strengths-based. The care home team trying to support a young person's next step. The local authority that wants better outcomes. The employer who wants to open a door but needs the right support around it. The funder who wants evidence, not warm words.
Where are we starting?
We are starting in Wales, because this is home.
Wales has its own story, its own strengths and its own barriers. Devolution matters here because education, health, skills, local government, transport and youth policy all shape what support looks like on the ground. But some major levers still sit with the UK Government, including welfare benefits and Jobcentre Plus. So the answer is not one programme or one policy. It is partnership.
That is why Fentro is being built as a connector. Between young people and employers. Between professionals and practical pathways. Between lived experience and policy. Between data and actual lives.
What happens next?
Fentro CIC is brand new. We are at the beginning of the venture, which feels appropriate, really.
We will be sharing research, insights, data and stories as we build. We will talk honestly about what is working, what is not working, and what young people are telling us. We will keep the evidence close, but we will keep the human being closer.
If you are a young person, Fentro is here to help you find your spark and build from it. If you are a professional, you can refer a young person who needs a different kind of conversation. If you are an employer, you can host a Discovery Day. If you are a funder, commissioner or partner, you can help us build something that does more than describe the problem.
The spark is already there.
Fentro is the venture that helps young people follow it.
- Nicola Martin, Founder, Fentro CIC
FAQs
What does Fentro mean?
Fentro comes from the Welsh for venture. The name reflects Fentro CIC's mission to help young people take a first step towards work, learning, confidence and opportunity.
What is Fentro CIC?
Fentro CIC is a Welsh Community Interest Company supporting young people aged 16 to 25 who are NEET, or at risk of becoming NEET, through interest-led career pathways, Discovery Days, employer partnerships and pre-employment support.
Who does Fentro support?
Fentro supports young people aged 16 to 25 in Wales who are not in education, employment or training, or who are at risk of becoming NEET. It also works with professionals, employers, funders and local partners.
What is the Spark Model?
The Spark Model is Fentro's interest-led approach. It starts with what a young person genuinely cares about, then maps that interest into real jobs, skills, employers, industries and next steps.