NEWS

Government unveils package of youth employment initiatives

The government has unveiled a youth employment drive that aims to create 200,000 jobs for young people and reform apprenticeships.

It comes as apprenticeship starts amongst young people are down 40% in the last decade and almost one million young people are not earning or learning.

There is also a new Youth Jobs Grant, through which businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire who is aged 18-24 and has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months.

It is also expanding the Jobs Guarantee to a wider age range, from 18-21 to 18-24, which it says will create more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs.

In addition, there is an Apprenticeship Incentive of £2,000 for each new employee aged 16-24 taken on by an SME.

Lizzie Crowley, Skills Adviser for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), said:

‘We welcome the Government’s focus on tackling youth unemployment and supporting more young people into work, particularly through new incentives to help employers create entry-level jobs and apprenticeships.

‘Many of these measures reflect changes we have been calling for, including stronger support for employers to create high-quality opportunities and more flexible routes into work for young people.

‘With the number of young people not in education, employment, or training rising significantly in recent years, rebuilding clear pathways into work must be a priority.

‘However, different incentive schemes have been tried in the past with varying degrees of success. It is important that meaningful jobs are created which also support skills development, and that the process for claiming the incentives are simple and clearly communicated.’

24/03/2026