Young people on benefits to be offered construction and hospitality work

In order to combat increasing youth unemployment, young people who benefit from social assistance will be offered job opportunities in sectors such as construction and accommodation.

The government will fund 350,000 training and work experience placements and guarantee 55,000 jobs in areas it says are needed most from spring 2026.

The funding will come from the £820 million Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget last month to fund a range of measures aimed at getting young people off Universal Credit and into work.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the plans would help unemployed young people “make something of their lives”. However, the Conservative Party blamed the Budget for increasing youth unemployment.

The number of young people aged 16-24 who are not in employment, education or training, known as Neets, has been increasing since 2021. Latest figures showing nearly one million young people He is neither earning nor learning at the moment.

The government announced in September that it planned to provide guaranteed job placement to young people aged 18-21 who have been unemployed or uneducated for more than 18 months, and that those who did not accept the offer without a good reason would face the risk of losing their benefits.

New training and work experience opportunities for young people on Universal Credit will be in sectors such as construction, hospitality, health and social care, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced on Saturday.

He said government-supported jobs will not necessarily be in the same sectors but will be in the following regions:

• Birmingham and Solihull
• East Midlands
• Greater Manchester
• Hertfordshire and Essex
• Central and eastern Scotland
• southwest and southeast Wales

The government says a total of 900,000 young people who have Universal Credit and are looking for work will be given a “dedicated job support session”, followed by a further four weeks of “intensive support”.

An employment coach will then guide them into one of six pathways: employment, work experience, an apprenticeship, wider education, learning or a workplace training program with a guaranteed interview.

The government expects more than 1,000 young people to start work in the first six months of the programme.

“Every young person deserves a fair chance to succeed. Given the right support and opportunities, they will get them,” McFadden said.

He described the fund as “a down payment on the future of young people.”

But shadow work and pensions minister Helen Whately criticized other measures announced in the Budget, saying: “The Chancellor’s tax rises are increasing youth unemployment and robbing a generation of young people of their careers.”

He added: “This scheme is nothing more than taking from one hand and giving in the other.”

More plans are expected next week as the government prepares to publish its national youth strategy.

Reeves previously announced the government would fund a scheme to make apprenticeships “completely free” for under-25s in small and medium-sized businesses.

There were 946,000 Neet young people in the UK in the three months to September; This corresponds to 12.7% of all people aged 16-24.

A quarter say long-term illness or disability is a barrier to work or education, while the number of people receiving health and disability benefits is also increasing.

The government announced this last month. launch an independent review The number of young people who do not work or study is increasing.