New Deal for Young People was touted as the answer to youth unemployment when Labour came to power in 1997. Now, more than a decade since its inception, the government is fast-tracking young people onto the programme, in a bid to drive down persistently high numbers of young people not in employment, education or training (Neet).
From 1 April, any young person who has been Neet for more than six months before turning 18 will be placed directly on to an accelerated version of New Deal for Young People (see box). They will skip the early stages of the scheme and go straight onto the third and most intensive phase, the supported job search.
In the past, young people had to be unemployed for six months after turning 18 before qualifying for the first part of the programme. A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions says the change will provide young people with "a clear incentive to re-engage as quickly as possible".
Hard to reach
According to Steve Hillman, head of policy and research at the Foyer Federation, the move is positive, but the details need ironing out. "The fast-tracking is beneficial because it means that engagement work with young people can start at an early stage," he says.
The issue is that the programme needs to be more flexible, he believes. "Young people's lives can quite frequently be chaotic, for reasons that are not their own fault. There needs to be an understanding that they might not always be able to meet the commitments of the programme; there needs to be give and take," he says.
The actual role of job centre personal advisers is another concern, he warns. Too often staff stick to a tick-box approach when they should be talking to young people about their aspirations and finding them truly suitable placements, says Hillman.
Gill Thornton, head of policy at Rathbone, the UK-wide voluntary youth sector organisation, also has reservations. The problem is that the quality of the New Deal programme varies wildly, she maintains.
"There are some really good New Deal projects, and there are some where young people are not getting a good deal. We're keen on anything that gives more young people the opportunity to work, but whether it will work depends on the quality of the provision," she says.
Ofsted inspection
She suggests that Ofsted should inspect New Deal provision to make sure it is up to scratch.
"New Deal provision should be expected to deliver on outcomes. It must provide quality key skills training and proper work experience, which should be the same quality as other 16 to 18 provision," she says.
Sally Orlopp, director of education and enterprise at A4e, an organisation that runs several Neet-reduction programmes, can see the benefit of the accelerated scheme. But she warns that some young people will slip through the net.
Her workers often talk to Neets in the streets and, she believes, "It will only help the young people who want to work".
The current economic climate could also hamper efforts to find young people work. "I'm worried that there are not enough jobs out there. What we really need is to skill our young people up," she says.
Despite good intentions, the recession means that employers have a wider choice of prospective employees. Even young people with qualifications and skills are finding it hard to get a job.
What this means for young people on New Deal remains to be seen. Just keep the focus on skills, and equipping young people for a proper career, Orlopp concludes.
THE NEW DEAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
- New Deal for Young People is the government programme designed to tackle youth unemployment
- Any young person aged 18 to 24 on Jobseeker's Allowance is required to enrol on the three-stage scheme, or risk losing out on benefits
- Jobcentre Plus personal advisers are responsible for helping young people with the programme
- Personal advisers are supposed to review the progress of New Deal participants and help them to plan for the future
- The first stage of New Deal is called the "gateway", and lasts for up to 16 weeks. At this stage of the process, participants receive careers advice, write a CV and work out personal action plans
- If the young person doesn't find a job in the first stage, they move onto the second, which is called "options" and lasts for at least 13 weeks. In this stage, personal advisers help young people to access training and work experience
- If a young person still does not have a job after that, they move to the "follow-through", or supported job search stage of the scheme. This lasts for up to six months and offers young people intensive support to help them find work.
