This comes as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, put tackling youth unemployment at the top of the government’s recovery plan which follows dire forecasts from experts predicting more than a million youngsters will be out of work this year

The £2 billion funded program benefits young workers who are currently under the Universal Credit program, which is a government-funded initiative that helps low-income or unemployed workers by giving them monthly payments to cover their living costs.

In total, as of May there were almost 500,000 young people aged 24 and under claiming Universal Credit - double the figure just a few months ago, and these young people are at risk of long-term unemployment. This job-creation scheme provides the younger generation with a chance to build their career despite the current pandemic.

Employers will be able to offer a six-month work placement for people aged between 16 and 24 who are claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment. To be eligible, employers are expected to offer contracts of a minimum of 25 hours per week.

Workers should be compensated for their hourly work at the National Minimum Wage. Specifications are as follows:

£4.55 for those under 18 years of age

£6.45 for 18-20 years old

£8.20 for 21-24 years old

Employers can claim back the cost of the national minimum wage through the government’s Kickstart job scheme, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.

Employers may opt to top these salaries up if they see fit. They are also responsible for providing training and support to Kickstart scheme employees to help them secure permanent jobs at the end of the 6-month period.

The good news is that any UK enterprise offering decent jobs may enter the program, provided that the jobs they are making available to applicants are new, are not replacing any already existing jobs and are ‘above and beyond any jobs they were expecting to create’.

There is no cap on place availability, so every kind of business is encouraged to join—big or small, national or local. It covers England, Scotland, and Wales, with Northern Ireland soon to follow, after additional funding is given.

Employers can apply to be involved in the scheme from August, with the expectation of workers beginning their new roles in the Autumn. The current plan is for the scheme to run until December 2021; however, it may be extended depending on the needs of the economy.

We believe the process will be managed through Jobcentre Plus. Work coaches (those tasked with supporting benefits claimants back into employment) will be asked to identify people who are most “at risk of long-term employment”, who will be invited to take part. 

There is still limited information around the application and management of the scheme and we await further updates.

Traineeships are unpaid work placements aimed at 16-24 year olds which are designed to build employabilty skills and make the trainee 'apprenticeship-ready'. They can last between six weeks and six months, and trainees are supported with English and maths, as well as more general skills such as CV writing, interview preparation, and workplace rights and responsibilities.

The UK Government will now pay employers £1000 for every trainee they take on

Apprentices are aged 16 or over and combine working with studying to gain skills and knowledge in a specific job. Apprentices work a minimum of 30 hours per week and are paid a minimum of £4.15 per hour.

The UK government will pay employers extra incentives until January 2021:

£2000 for every new apprentice aged 16-24

£1500 for every new apprentice aged 25+

These incentives are in addition to the current employer incentives which pay employers £1000 for employing apprentices aged 16-18.

For further advice on employing young people, or any other aspect of HR, contact us today for a chat