Michelle Welsh column: Giving young people a first step onto the career ladder
I know many young people are concerned about a lack of job opportunities while expenses are increasing.
To combat the lack of experience among young people, preventing them from getting on the employment ladder, the Government and the British Retail Consortium are launching a major new programme for 18- to 24-year-olds on universal credit.
Britain’s retail sector is one of the UK’s largest employers, with businesses rooted in communities across the country.
Young people will have the opportunity for two to four weeks of hands-on experience, with 16 to 35 hours each week that includes mentoring and interview experience.
This program is voluntary, and participants will continue to receive universal credit where eligible and travel costs can be supported.
This allows young people to gain experience with some of the UK’s major employers, including Tesco, John Lewis, Waitrose, Currys, Costa Coffee, Amazon, Boots, Marks & Spencer and many more.
I welcome this opportunity for young people to break the ‘no experience, no job cycle’ and give every young person a fair first step onto the career ladder.
The DWP will manage the placement of young people referred through job centres with participating retailers.
Furthermore, where a vacancy is available, a young person could be offered a permanent role or directed towards another opportunity.
This is the initial step towards our Government’s £2.5 billion investment by 2029 in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy.
This is an important step in supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn.
This continued Job Guarantee will support over 90,000 universal credit claimants aged 18 to 24 into work over the next three years.
More than 400 employers have backed the job guarantee, with the John Lewis partnership committing 30 new Waitrose roles to the Jobs Guarantee and aiming to recruit 1,000 care-experienced young people by 2030 through building happier futures.
This is only the start of our support towards young people entering the job market.
As your MP, I will continue to support reforms to support young people, as no-one who wants to work should be out of work.