Announced by the Government a couple of days ago. See Here.
With Comments.
A £40m campaign has been launched by the government aimed at creating thousands of new jobs for young people
‘Backing Young Britain’ will create 20,000 additional internships.
These of course are not jobs. Behind the fancy American word, internships, they mean work experience. Not to be sneered at – well not totally – but not real employment. And what about those on these schemes employment rights?
Launching the scheme, work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“We are determined not to lose a generation of talent because of the recession.
“Many young people were denied the help they needed in the recessions of the 80s and 90s, ending up out of work for months and years. Too many never got a start in the jobs market.
Very True. Let’s see what they are actually proposing.
Ministers also announced the first 47,000 youth jobs supported by the Future Jobs Fund for young people who are unable to find work or training within a year.
The £1bn investment, announced by Alistair Darling in April’s Budget, will attempt to prevent the country from losing a generation to unemployment brought about by the recession.
The jobs aimed at 18-24 year-olds will include sports coaches and teaching assistants.
Good. At least that’s more useful than New Deal schemes teaching you how to sit in a room and endure boredom while ‘job searching’.
Latest figures show that 726,000 18-24 year-olds are currently unemployed.
In other words 47,000 jobs is a drop in the Ocean. This is not going to change the fate of a ‘generation’.
The government has called on business to support young people attempting to find work. Children, schools and families secretary Ed Balls said:
We must not repeat the mistakes of the past and abandon a generation of young people.
The government already has programmes up and running to help school-leavers, graduates and young unemployed people and wed like (?) businesses and charities to join in by offering volunteering places, work experience and apprenticeships.
Nothing new here. This has been long in existence.
As part of the campaign, a graduate talent pool website will be launched tomorrow, with more than 2,000 internships available to graduates, with 4,000 more to be added in the next few weeks.
More non-jobs.
Conclusion: a very small step, barely a quiver, but in the right direction.
A lot more needs to be done.
How will those in such jobs get paid? Will ‘Interns’ get more than the Dole (or even that) ? What will be their employment conditions and rights?