The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a new ‘Kickstart Scheme’ as he delivered a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The statement set out a variety of schemes and funding being set up to support the economy as it recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Sunak acknowledged the challenges young people will face in entering employment as the country recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic. He announced a new “Kickstart Scheme” which will directly pay employers to create new jobs for any 16-24 year old at risk of long-term unemployment.
Firms are to be encouraged to create new, additional jobs for eligible people which provide at least 25 hours of work a week and pay at least the National Minimum Wage.
The Chancellor said that the jobs on the scheme would be good quality and that employers would help support young people on the scheme with training to find a permanent job. If conditions are met, the government will cover the cost of wages for young people on the scheme for 6 months, plus an amount to cover overheads for the employer.
Employers are to be able to apply to the Kickstart Scheme from next month and the first employees on the scheme are set to start in the Autumn, according to Mr Sunak. The scheme will cover England, Scotland and Wales, and additional funding will be provided to Northern Ireland for a similar scheme.
Only people on Universal Credit aged between 16 and 24 who are at risk of long-term unemployment will be eligible for the scheme, but the Chancellor has said there is to be no cap on the number of jobs that can be funded through the scheme.
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