We’re determined to tackle youth unemployment

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As a Government we’re determined to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment – and we all know retail can provide a great way for people to get into work.

As a Government we’re determined to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment – and we all know retail can provide a great way for people to get into work. So we’re launching a package of measures that makes it even easier for you to give an opportunity to some of the talented young people just looking for a break.

We’ve already introduced the Work Programme to give the unemployed tailored support and training to help them find a job, and provided thousands of voluntary work experience placements as well.

Now we’re spending £1bn over three years on the Youth Contract, which will create opportunities for nearly 500,000 young people.

As part of the deal, we’re offering 160,000 wage incentives, making it cheaper for businesses to take on new staff, helping to create the sustainable private-sector jobs our economy so desperately needs.

It’s a great opportunity for retailers. We’ll give you up to £2,275 if you take on an 18- to 24-year-old from the Work Programme. That’s more than enough to pay their National Insurance for a year.

We’ve listened to business leaders and slashed back the red tape to make it as easy as possible to claim the incentive, so it’s ideal for smaller organisations as well as large. Now my challenge is simple – snap up our offer before other organisations beat you to it.

We’re also going to be offering an extra 250,000 work experience placements over the next three years. We know work experience is effective – more than 34,000 people have already been on a placement and, of the early participants, half were off benefits after 13 weeks.

I won’t let a small but vocal protest affect this scheme, and I’m extremely pleased so many retailers are still happy to take part in it, giving young people the vital skills and experience in the workplace they are often lacking.

Just look at 20-year-old Michelle Foster, a well-educated young person from Keighley, in West Yorkshire, who was struggling to get a break until she tried work experience at the Original Factory Shop.

She impressed so much she was offered a permanent job – a great deal for her and a great deal for the company because they knew exactly who they were taking on.

In Livingston, West Lothian, Charlotte Charles got a permanent job at WHSmith after work experience there. She found the placement a big benefit, and her manager was delighted as well. And there are plenty more stories like that around the country.

The Youth Contract will also include more apprenticeships, extra support for the most difficult to reach 16- and 17-year-olds and more intensive job search support for young people in job centres.

Retail provides a great career for so many people, and it can provide a great opportunity for those young people who may be finding it difficult to get into work at the moment.

But it could also be a great deal for you, so get involved. You can find all the details at dwp.gov.uk/youth-contract.