The Department for Work and Pensions has announced a major youth employment drive backed by £1 billion of funding to help create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside apprenticeships reforms.
The measures have been announced to help tackle the youth unemployment crisis. Apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen by 40% in the last decade, leaving nearly one million young people currently out of work or education.
New measures announced include:
- A new Youth Jobs Grant, through which businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18-24 who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months
- Expansion of the Jobs Guarantee to a wider age range, from 18-21 to 18-24
- An Apprenticeship Incentive of £2,000 for each new employee aged 16-24 taken on by an SME
- Further reforms to the Growth and Skills Levy to prioritise young apprentices
These changes are backed by an additional £1bn of funding, taking the total investment into the Youth Guarantee and the additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years.
There will be seven new apprenticeship aligned to the Government’s Industrial Strategy priorities including:
- Welding – mechanised
- AI Leadership – developing AI strategy
- Electric vehicle charging point installation and maintenance
- Electrical fitting and assembly
- Mechanical fitting and assembly
- Permanent modular building assembly
- Solar PV installation and maintenance
Alan Beech, Director General of AMPS, said: “Giving employers more flexibility for hiring young people and creating more opportunities for the next generation to learn technical engineering skills through apprenticeships is a positive step, especially at a time when youth unemployment is soaring.
“Manufacturers and suppliers of power generating systems, and the wider supply chain, rely on a steady pipeline of skilled people. As a sector that supports critical national infrastructure and has an important role to play in delivering a more sustainable, yet resilient, energy system, it is vital that employers within our industry are given as much support as possible to attract and develop the skilled workforce needed for the future.”
