Britain's NEET crisis and the factory retirement cliff are the same problem in disguise

Industrial employers sitting on unfilled technical roles and a generation locked out of work are two halves of one fixable equation.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that around 13% of UK 16-24 years olds are not in employment, education or training. The government's own interim review has warned this could mark the makings of a "lost generation."

At the same time, close to a fifth of the engineering and manufacturing workforce is expected to retire…