Talent is everywhere. Access is not.
Careers are still decided by who you happen to know. The figures below come from the International Labour Organization's Global Employment Trends for Youth, and they explain why mentorhero exists and why one honest conversation is worth more than another list of job adverts.
- Young people unemployed worldwide
- 67 million
- Global youth unemployment, 2025
- 12.4%
- Young people not in work, education or training
- 20%
What the labour data says.
- Unemployed young people
- 67 million
- Youth unemployment rate
- 12.4%
- NEET share of young people
- 20%
- Direction of travel
- Rising again
The gap is advice, not ambition.
Qualifications are more widely held than ever, and the route from qualification to work is still informal. That route runs through family, alumni networks and friends of friends, which is exactly what a first-generation candidate does not have.
The network gap
Two people with the same grades get very different starts, because one of them can ask someone who already does the job.
The information gap
Nobody publishes what a role is actually like day to day, what a realistic salary is, or which step to take next. People find out after they commit.
The confidence gap
Without a single insider to sanity-check a plan, capable people rule themselves out of work they would be good at.
The cost lands on everyone.
On the person
A slow, wrong or aimless start to a career follows someone for years in earnings, security and confidence.
On employers
Roles stay open while qualified candidates never apply, because nobody told them the job existed or that they were eligible.
On economies
A fifth of young people outside work, education and training is unused capacity, and it is the same capacity every government says it is short of.
Thirty minutes, aimed at the gap.
- 01
Ask one real question
Not general guidance. One specific thing you are stuck on right now.
- 02
Match on the work
You are matched to someone who has done the job, anywhere in the network, not just near you.
- 03
Talk for 30 minutes
In the browser, free to the mentee, with a written note of what you agreed to do next.
- 04
Count it honestly
Sessions, hours and reach are reported live, so the effect is measured rather than claimed.
Sources
Every figure on this page is checkable.
- International Labour Organization, Global Employment Trends for YouthGlobal youth unemployment of 12.4% in 2025, around 67 million young people unemployed, and a NEET share of 20%. ilo.org
- mentorhero resultsOur own sessions, hours and reach, counted and published on the results page.
The things people ask first.
Where do these figures come from?
The unemployment, NEET and trend figures are from the International Labour Organization's Global Employment Trends for Youth reporting, published in 2026 and covering 2025.
Do you claim mentoring fixes unemployment?
No. Mentoring closes an information and network gap. It does not create jobs. It does change who hears about the jobs that exist and who feels able to apply.
Do you publish your own numbers?
Yes. Sessions, hours and reach are on the results page, with a note on exactly how each one is counted.
Who pays for this?
Partner organisations fund the network. Mentees pay nothing, anywhere.
Numbers are the argument. Sessions are the answer.
Book a session, put your people on the mentor side, or fund access for a group that has none.