Government launches £1bn scheme for young unemployed

25 Nov 2011

The Government is to create 400,000 work and training placements to help tackle record levels of youth unemployment.

The youth contract programme, worth £1bn, will begin in April 2012 and will offer wage subsidies of £2,275 to employers, to encourage them to take on up to 160,000 18 to 24-year-olds in England, Wales and Scotland.

A further 250,000 work experience placements will be made available for unemployed youths who have been seeking work for at least three months. The placements will last for up to eight weeks.

A £50m programme will also be launched with the aim of helping the most disadvantaged 16 and 17-year-olds in England who are not in employment, education or training.

The funds will be made available to employers and training providers when an individual reaches a sustainable position in their learning or apprenticeship.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce said, 'Youth unemployment is a huge challenge, and this package aimed at tackling the problem of record levels of young people out of work is welcome'.

The news follows the recent revelation that youth unemployment reached a record high of 1.02 million in the three months to September.