Gov to pay young people’s wages for six months

[ZT]

https://apple.news/Aw3FzlLiFTHOkYkVBGtAsrA

 

[andipandi]

Link doesn't work for me, anyway:

The Treasury said employers will be able to offer a six-month work placement for young people aged between 16 and 24 who are claiming universal credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The state will fund each “kickstarter” job, covering 100% of the national minimum wage for 25 hours a week and with employers able to provide wage top-ups.

People under 25 receive a lower national minimum wage, starting at £4.55 an hour for someone under 18, rising to £6.45 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds and £8.20 an hour for 21 to 24-year-olds. The scheme is mainly aimed at people aged 18 and above because most 16 and 17-year-olds are in education or apprenticeships,
Employers will be able to top up that payment if they wish.

The government said it would allow young people "the opportunity to build their skills in the workplace, and to gain experience that will improve their chances of going on to find long-term sustainable work".

The scheme will open for applications in August, with the first jobs expected to start in the autumn, and run until December 2021 - with the option of being extended.

I think it's a good starting point, however, there needs to be proper scrutiny of employers, the employment conditions ( thinking Leicester rag trade sweat shops debacle, re covid here) and what happens after six months? Back on UC, companies and employers drafting in another batch of unemployed youngsters for six months for a cost of £1000 (purported admin fee per person) per unemployed youngster, this scheme is set to run until the end of 2021. It could work well, some of the old YOP, YTS and Community Programme (CP) schemes did help people back into work, there was abuse though. Long term unemployed people were labelled merely as participants and in many cases the jobs were widely viewed as pretend jobs and pretend training, can employers be trusted, is this another massaging of unemployment figures? I bet Mr Wetherspoons (Tim Martin) will love this Kickstart scheme.

 

[ZT]

We won’t know till we see it action - lots of things could be very wrong or very right with it - that’s an unknown

we have no crystal ball

what it does show - is a willingness to pump funding into a problem area.

a far cry from austerity days

 

[Simon G]

I'll be encouraging my son to take advantage of this, 6 months work and some new experience is better than no work, which is what he has right now.

 

[Razuddin]

.....
I think it's a good starting point, however, there needs to be proper scrutiny of employers, the employment conditions ( thinking Leicester rag trade sweat shops debacle, re covid here) and what happens after six months? Back on UC, companies and employers drafting in another batch of unemployed youngsters for six months for a cost of £1000 (purported admin fee per person) per unemployed youngster, this scheme is set to run until the end of 2021. It could work well, some of the old YOP, YTS and Community Programme (CP) schemes did help people back into work, there was abuse though......

No doubt there will be a lot of abuse, but to be honest it should benefit young people who are struffling to find work. As Simon said above, this will give young people the chance to get 6 months of experience which will help then obtain a job once they have ended the scheme. Without this help, how would said young people get experience? Most jobs ask for like a gazzilion years of experience which is nigh on impossible as an 18 year old college leaver

 

[andipandi]

No doubt there will be a lot of abuse, but to be honest it should benefit young people who are struffling to find work. As Simon said above, this will give young people the chance to get 6 months of experience which will help then obtain a job once they have ended the scheme. Without this help, how would said young people get experience? Most jobs ask for like a gazzilion years of experience which is nigh on impossible as an 18 year old college leaver

I agree, there is a potential for good here. UC sucks, 35 hours a week job search, looking for jobs that don't exist. Much better off on this scheme I would think.