By Vivienne Russell | 20 July 2012
Up to £126m is being made available to businesses and charities in England that succeed in getting thousands of jobless youngsters back into education or training.
The scheme, which formally launched today following a bidding round, seeks to tackle the number of 16- and 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training – the so-called Neets. It is part of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s £1bn Youth Contract, which aims to help unemployed 16-24-year-olds.Organisations that succeeded at the bidding stage will receive an initial payment for taking young people on. Further funding will be awarded on a payment-by-results basis once organisations have demonstrated that they have succeeded in getting young people to follow training programmes or apprenticeships for at least six months. The contracts are worth up to £2,200 for every young person helped.
Over the three years that the scheme will run, it will focus on 55,000 16- and 17-year-old Neets with no GCSEs at A* to C. This group is at the highest risk of long-term disengagement from the world of work.
Seven providers have been selected working across 12 regional areas. Providers include the Pertemps People Development Group, Skills Training UK and the community charity Groundwork. Councils, further education colleges, youth offending teams and charities such as Barnardo’s and the Prince’s Trust will work with the main providers in regional supply chains.
Heralding the scheme, Clegg said: ‘Disengaged young people often have complex problem that act as a barrier to getting them learning again, which the government alone can’t deal with. But very often local charities and businesses know what’s going to help them.
‘That’s why we’re unlocking funding for these organisations to be as creative and innovative as they can, to do whatever it takes, to get the young people who need it most back on their feet. In exchange for this freedom all we ask is that they get results. It’s a win-win for government, young people and the organisations involved.’
Three urban areas – Liverpool, Leeds-Bradford-Wakefield and Newcastle-Gateshead – will allocate their own pot of money under the City Deals signed to secure more autonomy for core cities.
The proportion of Neets is highest in Yorkshire & Humber (6.1%) and the Northeast (6.9%) and lowest in London (3.6%).
