Young jobseekers to work for benefits in government plans
A London pilot programme will see young Jobseekers Allowance claimants be obliged to take part in a range of work experience placements or lose their benefits, employment minister Chris Grayling and London mayor Boris Johnson announced yesterday (28 August).
Under the scheme, young people who have not previously completed six months of paid employment must undertake the schemes, which involve 30 hours of work experience a week over a 13-week period, in a wide range of sectors including charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations.
On top of these 30 hours, they will be given 10 hours a week of “intensive” job search training, a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson adds.
This follows significant controversy over another scheme that obliged jobseekers to undertake work experience, although the DWP spokesperson notes that this scheme is different to others for specifically targeting “a very disadvantaged group, [who] have no experience of the world of work”.
According to a DWP statement: “All placements are expressly required to deliver clear benefits to the communities in which people taking part in the project live.”
The trial, which is funded by the European Social Fund, will be contracted out to providers in the next few weeks and is due to start later this year, the DWP says.
Grayling says: “Many other countries don’t allow young people to claim any benefits at all until they have made contributions through a job. This trial will give a clear idea of the impact of an approach that says, effectively, you can’t get something back until you have put something in.”
Adds Johnson: “Early intervention will reduce the risks of benefit dependency and increase the chances of long-term employment that is good for young people and good for the economic growth of this great city. As we continue to grapple with tough economic times there has never been a more pressing need to help young Londoners into work, which is exactly what this project is designed to achieve.”
•Another potential boost to the prospects of job market entrants comes today in the form of a report published by jeweller and entrepreneur Jason Holt, commissioned by the education and business secretaries, which recommends government measures making taking on apprentices more accessible to small businesses.
