1. Youth Contract - Overview 6 February Iain Walsh, Deputy Director Labour Market Interventions Strategy Division

2. Young people not in work – Why we need a Youth Contract

3. Elements of the Youth Contract
More intensive Jobcentre Plus adviser support
Wage Incentives
Youth
Contract
Additional Work Experience / sector based work academy places
Additional support for 16 / 17 year olds
Additional Mandatory Work Activity places
New
Apprenticeships

4. Youth Contract
New support builds extensively on the support already available allowing for swift implementation
Majority of Youth Contract support will be available from April 2012
New elements of support include:
Wage Incentives - Available to employers recruiting young people through the Work Programme
Additional support for 16 and 17 year olds – flexible programme of support delivered on a payment by results basis
These measures are being designed in partnership with key stakeholders including a broad range of employers and providers to ensure that they are effective
Ministers are meeting voluntary sector employers on the 8th of February

5. Wage Incentives Detail
160,000 wage incentives worth up to £2,275 available over 3 years
Available to employers from the private, voluntary and community sectors who recruit 18 – 24 year olds from the Work Programme
Ongoing engagement with a range of employers, representative bodies and stakeholders to inform design of scheme
Aim to ensure scheme is simple, efficient and easy to engage with to attract a wide range of employers, including smaller organisations and voluntary sector employers
Purpose
Encourage employers to fill existing vacancies with inexperienced young people
Help reduce long term impacts of the recession on young people

6. Additional support for 16-17 year olds
Programme of support for year olds designed by DWP and DfE in partnership with a range of key stakeholders
Aims to provide most vulnerable year olds NEET with additional support to help them back into either:
full time education or training;
an apprenticeship; or
a full-time job with accredited training
Flexible programme of support delivered on a payment by results basis
£150m over the next 3 years
Design process ongoing; we expect to announce more information shortly

7. Other elements of Youth Contract
Apprenticeships
20,000 additional incentive payments to support the Government’s Apprenticeship strategy taking the total to 40,000.
For small and medium sized enterprises with up to 50 employees taking on their first year old apprentice
Each incentive payment worth £1500
Work Experience and sector-based work academies
An extra 250,000 places available over the next three years bringing the number of work experience places to at least 100,000 places per year

8. Impact on Youth Unemployment
The Youth Contract will build on the wide range of support already available to claimants through Jobcentre Plus
This will ensure that every unemployed young person in need of support will have access to it
The Youth Contract will help target support more effectively and this, alongside the existing support, will help young people find real jobs
The focus will be on equipping young people with the skills and experience they need to succeed in the longer term