The latest figures showing a fall in the number of young people not in education, employment or training have been greeted as good news. Well, forgive me if I don’t crack open the champagne.

Yes, the number of so-called NEETs fell from just over one million to 981,000 between April and June. But it was still 30,000 higher than a year earlier and around 13% of our 16 to 24-year-olds remain outside education, work or training.

That’s not a recovery. If a patient has a raging temperature and it drops by one degree, you don’t send them home and declare them cured. They’re still seriously ill.

And Britain’s youth unemployment problem is an epidemic that needs treating with something stronger than another government review, initiative or catchy slogan. I’ve been banging this drum for years because I know what the cure looks like: apprenticeships on a massive scale.

I left school at 15 with no qualifications and went straight into a plumbing apprenticeship. It gave me a trade, a wage and a future. I went on to build Pimlico Plumbers into a business worth tens of millions and, along the way, helped more than 1,200 young people through apprenticeships. And the same is happening in my new business, WeFix London with our first team of trainees gaining skills that will last them a lifetime with a career to boot.

So why aren’t we doing the same for today’s generation? The government should guarantee every school leaver who wants one access to a proper apprenticeship and fully fund the employment costs, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.

Instead of waiting until youngsters have spent months or years outside the workforce and then paying benefits to support them, use that money to get them earning and learning from day one. Fund the job, not the unemployment.

There are thousands of businesses that would take on apprentices if the financial burden was removed. They need people and Britain desperately needs skilled workers. At the same time, we have almost a million young people without a job, education or training. It doesn’t take an economist to spot the opportunity.

And this isn’t just about plumbing, building or engineering. Apprenticeships can create careers in technology, finance, administration, hospitality and countless other sectors.

The alternative is allowing another generation to become dependent on the benefits system before their working lives have even properly begun. Once somebody has spent years attached to the benefits drip, getting them into the habit and routine of work becomes much harder.

The alternative is allowing another generation to become dependent on the benefits system before their working lives have even properly begun. Once somebody has spent years attached to the benefits drip, getting them into the habit and routine of work becomes much harder.

Getting the NEET figure back below one million is better than watching it continue to rise. But 981,000 young people going nowhere is nothing to celebrate.

Britain doesn’t need to manage this epidemic. It needs to cure it. And the prescription is staring us in the face.