RISHI Sunak will put young people at the heart of his pandemic recovery plan — with dramatic action to keep them in work.
The Chancellor will pump in billions of pounds to prevent a “jobpocalypse” that could leave a million under-25s on the dole.
He will use his mini-Budget this week to protect those already in work and improve prospects of those looking for it.
Mr Sunak fears the young are most at risk of redundancy and long-term unemployment when furlough ends in October.
He is considering a range of options to make it more attractive for bosses to hire them, including:
- EXTRA funding for a huge expansion in apprenticeships and skills training.
- TAX breaks and other incentives for companies who take young people on to their payroll.
- A MASSIVE investment in the careers service and work coaches to mentor young job-seekers.
- SUBSIDIES for struggling firms who keep young employees in work.
Mr Sunak will splash the cash to get Britain working again and revive the economy after 14 weeks of lockdown restrictions.
He is ready to make cuts in VAT targeted at key sectors and could pave the way for changes in business rates.
But his top priority on Wednesday will be to head off a jobs crisis that experts predict will send youth unemployment soaring from 420,000 to over a million by the end of 2020.
A source close to Mr Sunak said: “The Chancellor’s focus is on protecting and creating jobs and supporting people back into employment, particularly the young.
“Those leaving school or college are going to be entering a tough labour market and if we can’t get them into work quickly, it will have a long-term impact on their lives.”
Mr Sunak will announce one of the largest increases in front line job centre staff, doubling the number of work coaches to 27,000.
An extra £800million will provide 13,500 new expert mentors to job seekers.
About 270,000 more young people will benefit from jobs advice through a £32million investment in the National Careers Service.
The service now supports 400,000 people a year, including 18 to 24-year-olds. The extra funding will increase its capacity by a third.
