A new project will offer 16 to 24-year-olds in England work experience and training to help them get a first job. Employers such as HSBC, BT, General Motors and Virgin Media are hoping to run youth traineeships under the government’s scheme.
The initiative will offer help in writing a CV, interview practice, work placements of up to five months and training in English and maths. It follows complaints from business leaders about poor skills levels.
The scheme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Association of Colleges said it hoped the traineeship scheme would reduce youth unemployment.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday show 959,000 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK were unemployed in the three months to May – a jobless rate of 20.9%. Read more
