Job training plan aims to help 10,000 Birmingham young people

The initiative, launched by Birmingham City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), aims to provide unemployed young people with voluntary work placements that last up to eight weeks.

Unemployed young people aged up to 25 can volunteer to take part in the scheme and will then be offered a placement at a local employer with the aim of boosting their personal and work skills and making them more employable.

Birmingham Council is hoping local employers will come forward to be part of the scheme, and has pledged to “dramatically increase” the opportunities it offers.

In addition, Jobcentre Plus will continue to pay unemployed people’s benefits as well as cover travel and childcare costs.

Penny Holbrook, cabinet member for skills, learning and culture, said: “Research shows that 74 per cent of employers say that work experience is either crucial or significant when recruiting, yet only 27 per cent of employers nationally offer work experience.

“We need to buck that trend in Birmingham and invest in our young people.

“This campaign will also be a key element of our Youth Promise, which guarantees that all young people aged 14 to 25 in the city will have access to employment, education, training, apprenticeship or work experience within four months of leaving school, college or employment.”

Data published by the Office for National Statistics last month revealed there was 963,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK who were not in education, employment or training between October and December last year.

Birmingham Council leader Albert Bore, has urged employers across the city to take part in the initiative.

“I want Birmingham to be a city where people without work, particularly young people, can access meaningful work experience that will put them on the pathway to sustainable employment.

“We need to help provide that crucial bridge that allows people to demonstrate their potential.”

The Conservative Party wants young people aged 18 to 21, who are out of work for more than six months, to do community work to continue receiving benefits. The plans, which would come in if the party is elected in May, have been criticised as "condescending" by campaigners.