Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a set of measures to support young people into work, to help them continue their training and to boost the number of apprenticeship starts.
According to the document published alongside the statement, the government has allocated £2.1 billion for its new Kickstart Scheme, and £1.6 billion for “boosting worksearch, skills and apprenticeships”.
News: Chancellor announces apprenticeship support funding
More: Chancellor to announce £2bn job scheme for young people
Background: Apprenticeship starts almost halve during lockdown
Plan for Jobs: support measures
Here is what the Treasury’s document says on these measures:
“High-value courses” for school and college leavers
The government has said it will provide £101 million for the 2020-21 academic year to give all 18- to 19-year-olds in England the opportunity to study “targeted high-value level 2 and 3 courses when there are not employment opportunities available to them”.
Apprenticeships
The chancellor said the government would introduce a new payment of £2,000 to employers in England for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25. For employers hiring apprentices over the age of 25, there will be a £1,500 payment. Both will be available from 1 August 2020 to 31 January 2021, and these payments will be in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the government already provides for new 16- to 18-year-old apprentices, and those aged under 25 with an education health and care plan, says the document.
College capital funding
As previously announced by the prime minister, the government will bring forward £200 million of its £1.5 billion commitment for FE capital funding made in the Budget 2020, to support colleges to carry out urgent and essential maintenance projects.
The document said: “This will be the first step in the government’s commitment to bring the facilities of colleges everywhere in England up to a good level.”
Kickstart Scheme
The chancellor said the government will introduce a new Kickstart Scheme, to apply across Great Britain, which will be a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands “of high-quality six-month work placements” aimed at those aged between 16 and 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment.
The document said: “Funding available for each job will cover 100 per cent of the relevant national minimum wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.”
Traineeships
The chancellor confirmed that the government will provide an additional £111 million this year for traineeships in England.
The document said: “This funding is enough to triple participation in traineeships. For the first time ever, the government will fund employers who provide trainees with work experience, at a rate of £1,000 per trainee. The government will improve provision and expand eligibility for traineeships to those with level 3 qualifications and below, to ensure that more young people have access to high-quality training.”
Sector-based work academies
The government has said it will provide an additional £17 million this year to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements in England in order to provide vocational training and guaranteed interviews for more people, helping them gain the skills needed for the jobs available in their local area.
Careers funding
The government will provide an additional £32 million funding over the next two years for the National Careers Service. This will allow 269,000 more people in England to receive personalised advice on training and work, said the Treasury.
“Expanded Youth Offer”
According to the Treasury’s document, the government will expand and increase the “intensive support” offered by the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain to young jobseekers, to include all those aged 18-24 in the Intensive Work Search group in Universal Credit.
