Gen Kitchen MP column: Labour’s Youth Guarantee will deliver skills and opportunities for our young people

The Labour government is pushing forward with plans to ensure that young people here in Wellingborough and Rushden and across England are in employment, education or training. Part of this is a major youth employment drive backed by £1 billion to help create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade.

Under the previous Conservative Government, apprenticeship starts amongst young people were down 40 percent over the last decade and almost one million young people were not earning or learning between 2021 and 2024.

Labour’s New Deal for young people includes a new Youth Jobs Grant, meaning businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18-24 who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months.

From my ‘summer of business’ campaign last year, I heard first hand from many small and medium size enterprises that they are keen to employ younger workers. Which is why I am glad that this government will be giving all SME who take on new employees aged 16-24 £2,000 from the government.

I meet many young people in Wellingborough and Rushden who have so much to offer but just need to be given the opportunity to thrive.

These plans are the latest step in the Labour Government’s commitment to ensuring every young person aged 16- 24 has the opportunity to earn or learn. The changes are backed by an additional £1bn, taking the total investment into the Youth Guarantee and the additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This will support almost one million young people and help deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn

For the first time, employers will have more flexibility to upskill their staff through seven new apprenticeship units aligned to Industrial Strategy priorities including artificial intelligence, engineering, clean energy and construction.

Alongside this, the Growth and Skills Levy will be changed to reprioritise investment where it is needed most. This will mean that young people can access the jobs essential to our economy’s growth, and that apprenticeships remain fit for purpose and prioritise value for money.

Apprenticeship standards that do not meet the country’s skills priorities or take resources away from opportunities for young people and could be better delivered through on the job training, will be defunded.

I believe that all young people in Wellingborough and Rushden deserve the best opportunities in life. The Youth Guarantee will make this a reality.