The Government today announced its £2bn ‘kickstart scheme’ to create thousands of job placements for young people. The fund will subsidise six-month work placements for people on Universal Credit aged between 16 and 24 who are at risk of long-term unemployment, and for each ‘kickstarter’ job, the government will cover the cost of 25 hours’ work a week at the National Minimum Wage.
Responding to the announcement, Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England & Wales said:
“YMCA welcomes the Government’s new Kickstart scheme, renewed focus on apprenticeships and recognition of the additional support young people need in order to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 and secure a job. This is a brilliant opportunity to provide young people with experience, employment and pay in order to succeed in the future.
“Young people have been faced with deep uncertainty about what is next for them in the wake of COVID-19. With a third of 18-24 year olds having already lost their job or been placed on furlough, a significant investment and strategy was needed to help them build towards a brighter future. This was rightly unveiled by the Government today.
“We also welcome the Government’s focus on supporting businesses to hire new apprentices with the guarantee of an interview at the end, which will go a long way to empowering young people to get the experience and hands-on skills they need. It is very encouraging to see the Government’s focus on providing young people with a career path and skills, not simply a temporary job.
“YMCA believes that all young people deserve the right to be paid a decent wage and the opportunity to develop a career to ensure they thrive now and into the future. We look forward to finding out more details on the schemes outlined. ”
Helping young people gain the confidence to make decisions about their own lives is an important part of YMCA’s work, as is providing an environment in which they can flourish. YMCA enables almost 68,000 people every year to engage in education and training.
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