Welfare to work training courses intended for adults should be opened up to unemployed 16- and 17-year-olds, learning professionals have proposed.
Speaking exclusively to CYP Now, Paul Warner, director of employment and skills at the Association of Learning Providers (ALP), claimed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should urgently consider expanding courses to include young people who want to work rather than stay on in education.
He warned there is a gap in employment-focused provision since the Department for Children, Schools and Families is phasing out Entry to Employment courses in favour of more qualification-focused options.
"At the moment we're in a position where 16- and 17-year-olds are being ignored by pre-employment provision. But it doesn't take long before these young people turn 18 and the DWP system becomes responsible for them," he explained. "It is a bit mad that we're not covering this age group until they reach an arbitrary age limit."
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