Overview
- Package includes a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been out of work and on Universal Credit for six months, plus a £2,000 incentive for SMEs taking on apprentices aged 16–24.
- The government is widening its six‑month subsidised Jobs Guarantee to cover 18–24-year-olds, with ministers billing the move as the biggest overhaul of apprenticeships in a decade.
- Officials say the measures could help create up to 200,000 opportunities, with around 60,000 supported by the hiring grant and more than 35,000 additional placements through the expanded Jobs Guarantee.
- The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the plan will reach only a small share of nearly 1 million NEETs, noting it excludes over 300,000 Universal Credit claimants not required to job‑search and around 280,000 NEETs not on out‑of‑work benefits, and warning about delivery capacity.
- Latest data show youth unemployment at 16.1% at the end of 2025 and NEETs nearing 1 million, as business groups welcome the focus on entry routes but flag hiring costs, rigid rules and the need for safeguards to avoid low‑quality, short‑term roles.