DWP plan to get more young people into work

Young people on benefits will be offered job opportunities in construction and hospitality in a bid to halt the rise in youth unemployment. Ministers have announced an £820m package aimed at helping almost one million get off benefits and into work.

The money includes funding for training and work experience in construction, hospitality, and health and social care for 350,000 young people on universal credit. Others will be offered "intensive support" to help them find work, while Government-backed guaranteed jobs will be provided for up to 55,000 young people from spring 2026.

But those that refuse to engage with the help on offer without a good reason could lose some of their benefits.

The government-backed jobs will not necessarily be in the same sectors, but that they would be in the following regions:

• South-west and south-eastern Wales
• Birmingham and Solihull
• East Midlands
• Greater Manchester
• Hertfordshire and Essex
• Central and eastern Scotland

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said: "Every young person deserves a fair chance to succeed. When given the right support and opportunities, they will grasp them."

The extra funding comes amid a rise in "Neets", 16-24-year-olds not in employment, education or training.

Some 940,000 young people are now considered Neet, a rise of 195,000 in the last two years driven mainly by increasing rates of sickness and disability.

And the Resolution Foundation has warned that the figure is on course to reach one million for the first time since the aftermath of the financial crisis, when it peaked at 1.2 million in 2012.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "One in eight young people are locked out of learning and work. That's nearly a million futures on hold, a colossal waste of young talent.

"We need more early intervention. That's why we're creating a strengthened Risk of Neet Indicator, as part of an £820 million investment, an early warning system that spots where young people may need support before damage sets in.

"We're piloting automatic enrolment in further education, creating almost 300,000 new skills opportunities for those on Universal Credit, and expanding Youth Hubs to every local area – offering everything from CV tips to mental health support.

"But we know we can't fix this issue without tackling the poverty that feeds it. That's why we're investing to fight the stain of child poverty."

Former health secretary Alan Milburn has been asked to carry out a review of the rising number of Neet young people that will shape further reforms to health and welfare.

Mr McFadden said the new funding was "a downpayment on young people's futures and the future of the country, creating real pathways into good jobs and providing work experience, skills training and guaranteed employment".

Further plans for young people are expected to be set out in the coming week as the Government prepares to publish its national youth strategy.

Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: "The Chancellor's tax hikes are driving up youth unemployment, snatching a career from a generation of young people; this scheme is nothing more than taking with one hand to give with the other.

"This is an admission that the Government has no plan for growth, no plan to create real jobs, and no way of measuring whether any of this money delivers results.

"Ministers cannot say what the roles are, who the employers will be, or how many will still exist once the funding ends."

Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University – a leading think tank for improving working lives in the UK – said: "With nearly a million young people not in education, employment or training, it is welcome that the Government is committing funding for a new Youth Guarantee and more intensive work coach support and employment and training opportunities.

"However, evidence from the UK and overseas is clear that these schemes must focus on connecting individuals to 'good' jobs with a living wage, job security and opportunities to progress if they are to lead to long-term sustained employment.

"If reforms end up pushing young people into ‘any job’ under the threat of benefit sanctions, they may do more harm than good to their future work prospects. Nearly half of young people currently not in education, employment or training report are disabled, so it is vital that participants have some agency over the types of jobs and sectors they work in.

"Work Foundation analysis suggests young people are already twice as likely to end up in insecure, poorly paid jobs and studies suggest being in insecure work can exacerbate underlying health conditions.

"Given the sectors initially highlighted by Government for inclusion in the scheme – like hospitality, construction and social care – are home to a concentration of less secure jobs, there remains a significant risk that the new package may fail to provide a stepping stone into sustained employment."