Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden, has announced a new Youth Jobs Grant under which businesses will receive £3000 for every young person they hire aged 18–24 who has been on Universal Credit and is looking for work for six months.
He said that the scheme was expected to support 60,000 young people over a three-year period. It is part of a £1 billion youth employment drive which will help to create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade.
The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) currently sits at nearly one million and, within it, the proportion who are sick or disabled has doubled to around 45% of the total. More than half (58%) of NEETs have never had a job.
Aiming to tackle this deep-rooted problem, Mr McFadden has announced the expansion of the Jobs Guarantee to a wider age range of young people (from 18–21 to 18–24), to create more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs. This brings the total to be supported through the scheme to over 90,000 in the next three years.
In addition, an Apprenticeship Incentive of £2000 for each new employee aged 16–24 taken on by a small or medium-sized firm is intended to help the Government reach its target of creating 50,000 more apprenticeships.
Speaking for the Federation of Small Businesses, Policy Chair, Tina McKenzie, described the Youth Jobs Grant as a “game-changer” in tackling youth unemployment and inactivity.
“It’s the right choice to prioritise public funding to back small employers in particular to provide apprenticeships for young people. The UK can’t afford a lost generation amid rising employment costs, therefore we’re pleased the Government has listened carefully on this and stepped up with this pro-jobs, pro-opportunities package.”
Ministers have not yet set out how employers will qualify for the payments.
