A pilot scheme launched yesterday by employment minister Chris Grayling and mayor of London Boris Johnson (pictured) has been designed to enable young Londoners to contribute to their communities in line with the Government's aim to ensure a wider social contribution.
The initiative is a joint pilot between the mayor and the Department for Work and Pensions. The move ties in directly with the mayor's pledge to help create 200,000 jobs over the next four years and the Department for Work and Pensions' focus on back to work schemes.
The pilot will start by helping around 6,000 Londoners who make a new Jobseeker's Allowance claim with little or no work history with 30 hours of work experience a week for a 13-week period. Placements will be carried out in a wide range of sectors including charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations. All placements are expressly required to deliver clear benefits to the communities in which people taking part in the project live.
Placements, contracted out to providers, will include a targeted package of support, such as CV writing and interview skills, to help people boost their employability in an increasingly competitive jobs market. The trial will be contracted in the next few weeks and will start later this year.
Grayling, said: "Many other countries don't allow young people to claim any benefits at all until they have made contributions through a job. This trial will give a clear idea of the impact of an approach that says, effectively, you can't get something back until you have put something in."
Johnson, added: "It's no secret that work experience can be the key that opens the door to a successful career and more young Londoners need to be given the opportunity to do it. Right now it's a tough labour market out there and we have to ensure that all young people get the skills they need to succeed and for which employers are crying out.
"Early intervention will reduce the risks of benefit dependency and increase the chances of long-term employment that is good for young people and good for the economic growth of this great city. As we continue to grapple with tough economic times there has never been a more pressing need to help young Londoners into work, which is exactly what this project is designed to achieve."
The trial has been funded by the European Social Fund.
