LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) – Britain will invest an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) to unlock jobs for young people, the government will say on Monday, part of a drive to reduce the high numbers of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
Britain’s youth unemployment has reached a 10-year high, according to figures released last month, outpacing other European nations and posing tough questions for the governing Labour Party over its decision to raise the minimum wage.
Work and pensions minister Pat McFadden will announce on Monday the 1 billion pounds will be invested in grants to companies willing to engage young people and in more subsidised jobs – measures he says will help create 200,000 jobs.
He will also announce “the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade,” the government said.
“These measures will give life-changing opportunities to young people and significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training,” McFadden said in a statement before the announcement on Monday.
“These reforms will give young people a vital first step on the career ladder and help business leaders recruit the talent that will grow their companies.”
Some companies say they are struggling to afford to hire younger people, citing increases to the minimum wage alongside a rise in employers’ social security contributions and other costs.
The government has pledged to end lower minimum pay rates for 18 to 20-year-old workers. The main minimum wage rate now stands at 12.21 pounds ($16.40) an hour – up 29% over the past three years – while the rate for 18- to 20-year-old workers has risen 46% to 10 pounds an hour over the same period and is due to increase to 10.85 pounds in April.
Official figures last month showed Britain’s jobless rate for people aged 16-24 rose to 16.1% in the final quarter of last year, up from 13.8% in the middle of 2025 and a record low of under 9.2% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
($1 = 0.7563 pounds)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
