The government will offer young people on benefits job opportunities in sectors such as construction, hospitality and health and social care, aiming to reverse rising youth unemployment. From spring 2026 it will fund 350,000 training and work-experience placements and guarantee 55,000 jobs in areas identified as most in need.
The package is financed from the £820m announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last month’s Budget to support measures getting young people off Universal Credit and into work. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the programme would help out-of-work young people “make something of their lives.” Conservatives blamed the Budget for contributing to higher youth unemployment.
Levels of 16-24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (NEET) have risen since 2021. The latest figures show nearly a million young people are not earning or learning, with 946,000 NEET in the three months to September — about 12.7% of 16-24-year-olds.
The government had already announced in September that 18- to 21-year-olds who have been out of work or education for more than 18 months would be offered guaranteed work placements, with refusal without good reason risking benefit sanctions. The new measures extend support to a broader group on Universal Credit.
Around 900,000 young Universal Credit claimants looking for work will be offered a dedicated work support session followed by four weeks of intensive support. An employment coach will then direct them onto one of six pathways: straight into work, work experience, an apprenticeship, wider training, further learning, or a workplace training programme that includes a guaranteed interview. The government expects more than 1,000 young people to start jobs in the first six months of the scheme.
The government-backed roles and placements will be focused in specific regions: Birmingham and Solihull; the East Midlands; Greater Manchester; Hertfordshire and Essex; central and eastern Scotland; and south-west and south-eastern Wales.
Pat McFadden described the funding as “a downpayment on young people’s future,” saying, “Every young person deserves a fair chance to succeed. When given the right support and opportunities, they will grasp them.” Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately criticised other Budget measures, warning that “the Chancellor’s tax hikes are driving up youth unemployment, snatching a career from a generation of young people,” and called the scheme “nothing more than taking with one hand to give with the other.”
Further details are expected when the government publishes its national youth strategy. Chancellor Reeves has also said the government will fund apprenticeship training for under-25s at small and medium-sized businesses “completely free.”
A growing share of young people cite health as a barrier: a quarter of NEET individuals report long-term sickness or disability, and the number claiming health and disability benefits is rising. The government launched an independent review last month into the increasing number of young people not in work or study.