Rishi Sunak plans job creation scheme for UK youths

Rishi Sunak will announce a new £2bn job creation scheme for under-25s on Wednesday as a way to support the younger generations through the unemployment surge due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chancellor organised a six-month job placement scheme that would provide work for an estimated 350,000 workers in response to the crisis, which had hit young and vulnerable workers the hardest.

The Treasury said companies could start making applications for the jobs subsidies within a month and that the first young people would be employed in the autumn.

According to the Guardian, Sunak said that it was too risky to wait until the autumn budget to come up with a jobs package to help under-25s even though the economy was gradually starting to reopen.

Sectors with high concentrations of young workers, such as retail, leisure and hospitality were only now starting to reopen after months of being shut down.

Three weeks after the end of lockdown across the country, the number of shoppers visiting retailers was still down by nearly 50% in comparison to a year before.

The chancellor said: “Young people bear the brunt of most economic crises, but they are at particular risk this time because they work in the sectors disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

“We also know that youth unemployment has a long-term impact on jobs and wages and we don’t want to see that happen to this generation. So we’ve got a bold plan to protect, support and create jobs – a Plan for Jobs.”

Sunak will also announce a £111m pound plan to boost traineeships when he delivers his update to parliament on measures to boost the economy.

The Chancellor will announce a £3bn programme to make homes and public buildings more environmentally friendly.