Apprenticeship

£2m Kent County Council scheme to break “cycle of unemployment”

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With almost 9,000 young people aged between 18-24 out of work in Kent, the county council has come up with a revolutionary plan to fight back – directly paying employers a subsidy to take them on.

Kent County Council’s customer and communities policy overview and scrutiny committee has discussed the proposal. Full approval won’t be until March at the earliest, and the first jobs won’t be until April.

The authority would hand over £3,000 to someone hiring a non-graduate for 18 months, and £6,000 for a graduate.

County Hall recently introduced its Big Society Fund, and this employment scheme would use £2 million from that, plus hopefully government funds, which need to be applied for.

The authority would target companies with less than 50 workers already on their books, but the firms could be from almost any business area, such as private, public, organisations and social enterprises. It is designed to get youngsters out of a “cycle of unemployment”.

Councillors were told the authority has recent experience of delivering employment opportunities through the

successful delivery of 890 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund.

A report said: “This successful delivery ensured £5.5m of funding was accessed by public and third sector organisations in Kent.

“Of those young people completing their six-month FJF placement 40 per cent moved straight into employment, in line with the national average, whilst for the 81 graduates who were helped this figure rises to 63 per cent.”

Long term employment in the age group has recently quadrupled. Supporting independence manager Wayne Gough told members that while £2m is a lot of money, it won’t immediately deal with all the county’s unemployed but is a start.

Cllr Mike Hill, cabinet spokesman for communities, said: “Young people who have been out of work for a long time lose the confidence and the ability to get a job and we are trying to make sure we help the young people of Kent.”

Nationally, the average unemployment rate for this age group is around 22 per cent – a record high level.

Cllr Hill added:“KCC recognises that young people are struggling to get their first step on the career ladder due to a lack of work experience and the challenges employers are facing in the economic climate. This is completely demoralising for young people who, by no fault of their own, are not being given a chance to prove themselves.

“We are hoping that by encouraging and supporting local small and medium enterprises to take on young people, we will make some headway in breaking this vicious cycle and get more young people into employment.

“I am extremely enthusiastic about this cause and look forward to seeing our plans put into action in the spring.”