A £1 billion initiative that aims to tackle youth unemployment has been launched by the government.

A £1 billion initiative that aims to tackle youth unemployment has been launched.

The Youth Contract Scheme will offer incentives worth some £2,275 for each 18-24 year old that an employer offers a paid position to and will also create 250,000 work experience places.

Carmen Watson, managing director of recruiter Pertemps Network Group says, ‘A problem that many young people face when trying to enter the job market is a lack of experience, even if they have the abilities and ambition to succeed.

‘Providing opportunities for young people to gain entry into jobs will offer a new glimmer of hope for 18-24 year olds, particularly those that have been out of work for long periods of time.’

Watson adds that businesses will now have the support to invest in the future of the nation’s workforce and also the future of their own businesses.

At the November unveiling of the initiative, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said, ‘What’s different about this is it gets young people into proper, lasting jobs in the private sector. But it’s a contract, a two-way street: if you sign up for the job, there’ll be no signing on for the dole. You have to stick with it.’

The new programme will help ‘the most disengaged 16 and 17 year-olds’ by getting them back to school or college, onto an apprenticeship or into a job with training.

The Youth Contract is open to all businesses, including those that already employ large numbers of young people (like retail and construction) and emerging sectors (like the green economy, creative industries and ICT).

See also: Family business centre launched