Deputy PM launches scheme to get NEETS working

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has unveiled a scheme to get teenagers who are out of work or education active again.

As part of Clegg's Youth Contract, the government will, for the first time, target funding to 16- and 17-year-olds through tailored support on a payment-by-results system.

Help will focus on at least 55,000 young people who are at the highest risk of long term disengagement. In England, the government is making £126m of new money available to give teenagers the opportunity to lean, train, work and get their lives back on track.

Charities and businesses with expertise in supporting young people are being invited to bid for contracts worth up to £2,200 for every young person they help. Support will be tailored to suit individuals' needs, and will include basic skills training and interview practice.

Speaking at the launch of the project, Clegg said: "Sitting at home with nothing to do when you're so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years. It is a tragedy for the young people involved - a ticking time bomb for the economy and our society as a whole.  This problem isn't new, but in the current economic climate we urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed.

"Many of them will have complex problems: truancy, teenage pregnancy, a lack of GCSEs and health problems. So helping them onto their feet will not be without challenges and Government cannot do this alone. But we all have a duty to reach out to the young people who can be hardest to reach. That's why today I am calling on charities and other organisations at the coal face to work with government to help tens and thousands of lost teenagers onto a brighter path."

Unlike any past schemes for this age group, payment will depend on results. Organisations will receive an initial payment for taking young people on, followed by subsequent payments when they show progress - including sticking with training programmes, undertaking apprenticeships, or holding down jobs. To achieve the best results, the scheme will give total freedom to those providing support - as long as the end result is success for the young person.

Disengaged 16- and 17-year-olds are being singled out for special funding because of evidence that unemployment in early life can leave a permanent scar on earning potential, with the effects on their careers still evident decades later. By the age of 42, someone who had frequent periods of unemployment in their teens is likely to earn nearly a fifth less than their peers.