Burnham will stand or fall on his plans for youth employment: he must put the next generation first
Labour has to match the success of its New Deal for young people in the late 1990s – and remedy the injustices that have led to a ‘lost generation’
TL;DR
- A new youth employment program offers employers a £3,000 grant to hire young people (18-24) who have been unemployed for at least six months.
- Andy Burnham's devolution plans aim to empower local mayors to address unemployment, drawing on the success of Manchester's 'working well' program.
- A more comprehensive jobs guarantee will pay all wages and costs for employers hiring harder-to-hire young people unemployed for over 18 months.
- The new scheme includes intensive work search, personal coaches, and guarantees of apprenticeships, work experience, or training.
- The article references the success of Labour's 1998 New Deal for young people as a benchmark.
- Concerns are raised about the cost and effectiveness of the employer subsidy, with the Resolution Foundation suggesting it could be expensive per additional job created.
- Burnham also plans to address the root causes of Neet status, including generational, geographic, and class injustices, and proposes reforms to education and apprenticeships.