Young people should have legal guarantee of jobs or training, Milburn says

Alan Milburn has proposed a legal “opportunity guarantee” requiring the government to ensure young people can access a job, training or employment support. His forthcoming review aims to address rising youth unemployment and the growing number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, which passed one million earlier this year.

Milburn says the guarantee could resemble councils’ duties to support homeless people and children in care, and argues that previous employment schemes have been too temporary. He says people who do not take up support could lose benefits, and proposes shifting spending towards help with work and training. The TUC welcomed a permanent jobs guarantee, while disability charities and some Labour MPs raised concerns about proposed changes to young people’s benefits; the Prime Minister has not committed to adopting the review in full.