Companies are to be paid grants to hire more young people under new government proposals to tackle youth unemployment. Ministers want to create 200,000 jobs and are pledging £1bn in funding for several initiatives. Businesses will receive £3,000 for every person between the ages 18 and 24 that they employ who has been searching for a job for six months or more, while small and medium firms will be paid £2,000 for every new apprentice they take on. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is set to announce the Youth Jobs Grant today. Some 60,000 people are expected to be supported by the proposals. McFadden said the new measures would giving “life-changing opportunities to young people” that will “significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training.” He added: “We are focusing funding where it’s needed most and giving employers the flexibility and support they’ve asked for.”
