Employers are to be given financial incentives for taking on young people and/or providing them with work experience or apprenticeship places as part of the coalition government’s £1 billion Youth Contract scheme.
The aim of the initiative, which is being led by deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, is to help 18 to 24-year olds either find a job or training that will help them compete more effectively in today’s difficult employment market.
Employers will be given wage incentives worth more than £2,275 for each of the targeted 160,000 young people that they recruit. Money will also be made available to subsidise 25,000 work experience placements and 20,000 apprenticeship places.
Clegg said: “It is a really important day because having over a million young people out of work is just really bad for the country and can create huge long-term scarring effects.”
The initiative, which was launched last November, is being backed by the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, the British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses.
Tom Hadley, director of policy & professional services at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, welcomed the move, saying that it reflected recommendations, which included financial incentives for employers, put forward by the organisation’s Youth Employment Taskforce.
But he warned: “The fact that these only apply to job-seekers on the Government’s Work Programme may limit the impact, and wage incentives are only part of the solution as the overriding priority for business is to ensure that young people have the skills, competencies and commitment to make a difference.”
***In news elsewhere, an HIV and sexual health charity has introduced a ‘Back to Work’ scheme to enable people with the illness to undertake a six-month work placement at its offices in order to help them develop the skills and experience that they require to find paid employment.
The move follows a pilot project last year, which saw 10 people work for up to 16 hours a week across a variety of departments at the Terrence Higgins Trust’s central office.
Following the placement, one participant found full-time employment, two obtained paid work, two got involved in further education and four out of five felt more confident about going to work. About a quarter of people with HIV in the UK are unemployed.
The Back to Work scheme is open to anyone with HIV who has been unemployed for two years or more or who is receiving benefits. Placements will be offered in London and Brighton and the deadline for applications is Monday 30 April.
