Young Britons are more positive about a year of service than older people assume, a new poll finds

Young Britons are more open to a year of service than older people assume, according to a new Focaldata poll of 2,176 adults in Great Britain. Most Britons (86%) believe that service opportunities for young people are important, and young people themselves are keen to take part: six in ten 18-24-year-olds (60%) say they would like to participate in a year of service if eligible, compared with 32% who say they would not.

Support remains high when the practical offer is spelled out. When respondents were told participants would work full-time for a year in a charity, community organisation or public service, be paid the real living wage, receive training and a mentor, and finish with a recognised qualification, at a cost to the government of £15,000 per participant, 68% were still in favour, including a majority of voters for every major party tested.

Seven in ten Britons (71%) think a year of service would make Britain stronger, including 59% of 18-24-year-olds. With Honor, a Washington-based not-for-profit organisation, commissioned the poll to coincide with the UK publication of co-founder and CEO Rye Barcott’s New York Times bestseller Courage Can Save Us.

Young people are more positive about service than those who are older assume

The findings reveal a striking gap between how young adults and older Britons think young people see service.

Older Britons believe that young people see service as an obligation. Among Britons aged 25 and over, just 37% thought young adults see service as an opportunity, while 40% thought they see it as an obligation. But the reverse is true, over half (53%) of 18-24-year-olds described it as an opportunity that benefits them and others, compared with 34% who saw it as an obligation.

Young adults were also practical about what would make a year of service worthwhile. Their top reasons for taking part were earning a wage (35%), improving their future career prospects (32%) and earning a recognised qualification (30%). Giving back to their community was cited by 19%.

“What surprised me most was what young people themselves said,” said Barcott. “They are more open to a year of service than older people assume, and more practical about it. They want to earn, learn and come out with something they can use. Britain will decide what any programme should look like. My own experience is from America, where With Honor works to expand national service, military and civilian. It is a rare idea that still has friends across party lines. It looks like it may have them here too.”

Al Carns MP, former Minister for the Armed Forces and Royal Marines reserve officer, said: “I joined the Royal Marines at 19 and learned early that resilience comes from people who are ready to step up. Some wear a uniform, but many never will. They are the young people who help in a flood, support a struggling school or keep a community going in a crisis. This poll shows they are willing, and that employers will value it. Now we need to build the routes that let them serve.”

Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat MP said: “I served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army reservist, and some of the finest soldiers I knew were barely out of their teens. We spend too long talking about young people and not long enough listening to them. Ask them, and most see serving their community as an opportunity rather than a chore. Al Carns and I sit on opposite sides of the House, but on this we agree: mandatory service should not necessarily be seen as the default option, giving young people the chance to serve belongs to no single party.”

Employers would reward service experience

The poll suggests that a year of service could also carry real value in the workplace.

Among respondents who run a business or manage staff, 73% say a year of full-time service in a charity or community organisation would make them more likely to hire a young candidate. Just 6% say it would make them less likely.

Two-thirds of all Britons (66%) think employers who take on a young adult through such a scheme should contribute towards their wage.

When 18-24 year-olds were asked what would most help young people not in education, employment or training into work, a paid, full-time year of service and financial incentives for employers were among the leading answers.

Schools, communities and emergency preparedness attract the broadest support

Support is strongest for service that is visibly rooted in communities and gives young people practical experience.

Supporting children and young adults in schools (75%), civic and community service (74%) and emergency preparedness and resilience work (74%) drew the strongest support. A paid year in a charity, community organisation or public service drew 72% support, followed by environmental and conservation projects (71%) and the Armed Forces reserves (60%).

“Every one of the ten leaders in my book learned something through service that they carried into the rest of their lives,” Barcott said. “In my experience, contributing to something larger than yourself is one of the few ideas that can still find common ground across the political spectrum. It is encouraging to see that instinct here too.”

Victoria Head, CEO of City Year UK, said: “Young people are telling us clearly that they are supportive of a year of service when it is paid, recognized and leads somewhere. Employers, the government and charities should join forces to give them that opportunity.”

Stephen Greene, Director of UK Year of Service, said: “Young people in the UK have so much to contribute to our collective future. The UK Year of Service pilot program showed that they can make a meaningful difference in their communities while gaining the skills employers need most.”

Courage Can Save Us follows ten American political leaders, five Democrats and five Republicans, who continue working across party lines in a political culture that often penalises it. Britain runs through their stories more than readers might expect. Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat and Army veteran, studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Senator Todd Young, a Republican and Marine Corps veteran, spent a year at the University of London and came home admiring Margaret Thatcher’s pragmatism. Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican and former Navy SEAL born in Aberdeen, lost an eye in Sangin, the Helmand town where more than a fifth of all British soldiers killed in Afghanistan died.

During the UK launch week, Barcott will meet parliamentarians from across the parties, veterans in public and business life, cadets, students and young leaders. The official UK launch takes place at the Tower of London on 13 October, where Barcott will be joined by Al Carns MP and the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP for a conversation chaired by former editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber. Remarks will also be given by Nigel Newton, Founder & Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Publishing.