Department for Work and Pensions helping youth unemployment and how employers can help too

Please find below and article on how JobCentre Plus is responding to the challenge of youth unemployment.

As you are probably aware the Government announced a £1billion Youth Contract to help young unemployed people get a job. The Youth Contract, launches in April 2012 and will provide nearly half-a-million new opportunities for 18-24 years olds.

Getting Young people into Work Experience, Skills Training or Employment is key to us all. By supporting the Youth Contract, employers will help someone reach their potential; their business will benefit and the wider economy in which they do business will grow.

The Youth Contract marks a substantial increase in the support and help available to businesses who recruit young people from the Work Programme, Jobcentre Plus and through Apprenticeships or sector-based work academies. Many businesses have already offered fantastic support by committing opportunities and vacancies for young people without jobs and we aim to build on this.

The Youth Contract offers a range of incentives to encourage employers to give young people a chance. This package includes a number of key elements:

• 160,000 wage incentives worth £2,275 each for employers who recruit an 18 to 24 year old from the Work Programme. This is more than enough to cover an employer’s National Insurance contributions for a year, which was recommended by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in their recent report on youth employment
• An extra 250,000 Work Experience or sector-based work academy places over the next three years, taking the total to at least 100,000 a year. This will come with an offer of a Work Experience place for every 18 to 24 year old who wants one, before they enter the Work Programme
• At least 20,000 extra incentive payments worth £1,500 each for employers to take on young people as apprentices

Additional support is also available to young people through the Youth Contract with Jobcentre Plus offering extra advisor time to provide more back to work support and a careers interview from the National Careers Service.

Please find below a link for more information or contact Jackie Mason (Jackie.mason@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk) for further advice or support.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/youth-contract-employer-factsheet.pdf  

Working together we can not only contribute to regenerating the economy, but we can make a real difference to the lives of young people and their families.