Taxpayer-funded youth jobs scheme to be expanded in bid to tackle Neets rise

Résumé détaillé

Every eligible 18 to 24-year-old will be ‘guaranteed’ a six-month job matched to their skills after 12 months on universal credit, officials said.

A taxpayer-funded scheme aimed at helping young people into work will be expanded to include under-25s who have been claiming benefits for a year, the Government has announced.

Every eligible 18 to 24-year-old will be “guaranteed” a fully-funded, six-month job matched to their skills after 12 months on universal credit – down from the current 18 months, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.

Under the scheme, which will be rolled out nationwide from the end of November, the Government funds up to 25 hours of paid work a week at the relevant minimum wage.

The reduction in the length of time a benefit claimant waits before becoming eligible for the programme will come into force in April next year, officials said.

It comes after the author of a major forthcoming report on tackling the rise in youth unemployment said they deserve a legal “guarantee” of a route into work.

Alan Milburn, whose recommendations will be published on Tuesday, told the BBC that the Government should have a duty to ensure young people have access to either training, work or employment support.

He suggested this might work similarly to the way that local councils have a legal responsibility to offer accommodation or advice to the homeless, or accommodate children in care.

The former Labour health secretary said previous employment schemes have been temporary and do not go far enough to tackle the problem of young people not in education, employment or training.

The DWP’s existing scheme is called the “jobs guarantee” but does not include a legal duty. Officials have said funding for the programme comes from the Government’s wider £2.5 billion employment support package.

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