Blunkett: Youth jobs push must go further |
| Writing in The Times, David Blunkett, a former education and employment secretary, argues the government’s new measures to tackle rising youth unemployment mark a positive and overdue shift away from bureaucratic inertia. He supports incentives like £3,000–£5,000 payments to employers, alongside maintaining key qualifications, as steps toward addressing a growing crisis affecting nearly 1m young people. However, he stresses that such efforts must become a sustained, coordinated effort. Drawing on examples like the Netherlands, Blunkett highlights the need for stronger vocational training (especially apprenticeships), better coordination between national and local policy, and clearer support systems for young people. He concludes that with the right long-term approach, the UK could reconnect hundreds of thousands of young people to work or education, delivering major social and economic benefits. |
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