The Department for Work and Pensions has launched the Youth Guarantee Journey from today, a new scheme targeting Universal Credit claimants aged between 16 and 24 across England, Scotland and Wales. The initiative promises personalised support including apprenticeships, work experience placements, skills training and one-to-one coaching to help young people prepare for employment, polish their CVs, practise interviews and secure work more swiftly.
What the Youth Guarantee Journey Offers
Participants will continue receiving Universal Credit while collaborating with Jobcentre staff to devise a tailored plan to help them land a job. Each claimant will undergo an employment and skills review shortly after submitting a Universal Credit claim, followed by regular appointments with a dedicated work coach. Depending on individual circumstances, those involved could be offered apprenticeships, work experience placements lasting between two and eight weeks, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), CV writing and interview coaching, help with job applications, skills training, English, maths and IT support, and help towards travel and childcare costs while attending training or work experience.
Following 13 weeks, participants will attend a 'gateway' meeting to determine the next step in their journey, which could involve entering the workforce, embarking on an apprenticeship, gaining work experience or pursuing further education or training alongside their Universal Credit claim. Some young people may also be directed to one of more than 100 Youth Hubs across Great Britain, where specialist advisers offer additional careers advice, confidence building and interview preparation.
Support for Those with Complex Barriers
Those facing more complex obstacles to employment can receive support from dedicated youth employability coaches for up to six months, with ongoing assistance for six weeks after securing a job.
Research Highlights Youth Unemployment Crisis
This development comes as newly published research warns that youth unemployment has reached a worrying milestone. A report by the Resolution Foundation reveals that the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has surpassed one million for the first time in 13 years. The think tank cautioned that even relatively brief periods of unemployment at a young age can have 'scarring effects' on future earnings, employment prospects and wellbeing throughout adult life.
Its analysis concludes that targeted employment schemes offer considerably better value for taxpayers than broad tax breaks or wage subsidies. Amongst the proposals analysed, the Foundation reckons a broader Jobs Guarantee scheme could generate approximately 17,500 new positions annually, with each role costing roughly £37,000, while boosting the current Youth Jobs Grant might deliver about 2,800 additional jobs each year at a comparable price tag. In stark contrast, bringing back employer National Insurance relief for the under-25s would yield merely 7,000 extra jobs per year, yet would set the Treasury back around £132,000 for each new position created.
The report further urges ministers to scrap proposals to fully harmonise the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds with the National Living Wage, warning the measure could inadvertently exclude some younger workers from employment opportunities, despite boosting earnings for others. It additionally advocates for expanding the Youth Jobs Grant to 80,000 places a year, broadening the Jobs Guarantee to encompass more young Universal Credit recipients, and ringfencing apprenticeship funding specifically for under-25s in an effort to combat rising youth unemployment.
