Looks like gov’t will take steps to simply smaller firms’ access to Kickstart, its flagship youth employment scheme, wherein gov’t subsidises six-month long jobs for 16-24-year-olds who are claiming UC and at risk of long-term unemployment. https://feweek.co.uk/2021/01/23/government-kickstart-minimum-vacancy-rule-to-be-scrapped-hitting-hundreds-of-gateway-providers/

Boosting the number of jobs on offer through Kickstart is important and welcome, especially given that 16-24s have experienced the largest fall in employment & biggest rise in unemployment over the course of the Covid-19 crisis.

And this rise in the level of youth unemployment comes despite the fact that we’ve got a larger number of young people in full-time education this year compared to last – which will have limited the rise in youth unemployment.

Despite the attenuating effects of a rise in education participation, 18-24-year-old unemployment rates – especially for men – are reaching levels not seen since the start of the Great Recession. And this matters for young people’s long-term prospects.

@resfoundation research shows the scarring effects for unemployed young people. Were overall unemp. to rise to some of the more dire projections we've seen, the chance of a lower-qualified school leaver finding work w/in 3 years would fall by a third https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/class-of-2020/

All this to say that that policies which can give young people work experience (let alone, pay) in the here and now will have positive knock-on effects for years to come. To that end, efforts to expand Kickstart and support quality, additional jobs should be very much welcome.