Is the New Government Plan a Quality Guarantee?
Will Gordo's news be good for you?
AT WEXO we think it’s important to keep you guys up to date with what the government, (or anyone else for that matter) are doing to help young people looking for work. So…
The government just announced The Young Person’s Guarantee. According to the Government, the guarantee will offer up to 470,000 training or work experience opportunities over the next 15 months, benefiting almost 100,000 youngsters straight away. It offers the chance of work through the Future Jobs Fund, work-focused training, a place on a community task force, help with self-employment and internships. Young people will still receive JSA (Job Seeker’s Allowance) while on the schemes. If they do not take up the offer, young people’s benefits will be affected.
It means a bit more freedom and funding to help develop your career. BUT we think they don’t go quite far enough and have one reservation about the plans: The government should be offering more incentives for businesses to pay their interns at least minimum wage. A graduate on Job Seekers Allowance for 6 months could legally be taken on for an internship and paid £46.85 per week? That could be even less than the travel and expenses bills met by some 14 year olds that we send on work experience placements. WEXO would like to see more action being taken to incentivise companies to recruit graduates in particular and pay them a respectable wage. Otherwise talk of a ‘lost generation’ could still become a reality.
More info on Young Person’s Guarantee – Press Association Coverage
Tell us what you think of the situation. Is the Young Person’s Guarantee Good news?
I totally agree with Wexo, I had my New Deal appointment today and its crazy how much the job centre still don’t know how to deal with graduates! The staff speak down on you as if your stupid and completely de-valued my academic achievments.
Gordon has really messed our generation up. Instead of this New Deal nonsense he should introduce payments/rewards for unemployed graduates who actually find work placements! And he should abolish unpaid internships because it discriminates against people like myself who are from working-class backgrounds and can’t afford to work for free.
It really annoys me that you have to have been unemployed for 6 months or more to apply for these schemes – what about people who have been working part time to pay the bills? Why can’t we apply for jobs that will give us experience that will benefit our careers? I do understand the reasons for schemes such as these, but I feel it is almost like a kick in the face as I have been working part time to support myself throughout university, and now work full time in a call centre because I don’t have the experience to get a job I actually want.