(This may be daft as it's completely off the cuff based on the student loan news today.) Why not turn student loans into young people loans? In other words, everyone qualifies when they turn 18. Loans would be repaid on the same timeframe/thresholds as students do now.

That would let young people take apprenticeships, internships etc. without worrying where their next meal came from, or pool resources to start a company, or begin saving a deposit for a home, or do any one of a myriad things.

It might be too expensive, too hard to police, too complicated to administer. But it might also be a genuine way of giving everyone a solid start in adult life, regardless of the path they choose.

It would also be optional, and could be deferred if not taken up at age 18 (maybe with a cap at say age 50). In other words, there's a one-time helping hand coming to most at some point, when and if they choose it. Would do wonders to redress the sense of a "generational divide".