Öpik and Bates back plan to slash youth unemployment (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

Öpik and Bates back plan to slash youth unemployment

September 10, 2009 3:08 PM

The Liberal Democrats today proposed plans to stop the cycle of unemployment faced by a growing number of young people.

The unemployment rate of 18-24 year olds is 17.2%, compared with 7.8% amongst the total population. Those with low skills are at a particularly high risk of being unemployed; 35% of people under 24 with no qualifications are unemployed compared to 10% among those with a degree.

With the recession hitting the youngest the hardest, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today outlined new proposals to prevent people leaving school, college and university being condemned to long-term unemployment. They include:

· Introducing a new Paid Internship scheme - until the end of 2010 - with a total of 800,000 places, where young people would be able to work for up to three months with any employer, without cost to the employer. Each intern would be paid a new Training Allowance of £55 per week, with employers required to give help with CV writing and offer time off to look for a job

· Funding 10,000 more university places and 50,000 more college-based Foundation Degree places this year

· Fully funding adult apprenticeships to give more young people access to vocational training in the workplace and improve their skills

· Introducing a new '90 day promise' after three months unemployment, instead of the current 10 months, to make available a place in work, training, education or an internship

These proposals would all be paid for immediately by scrapping the VAT cut now rather than in January.

Commenting on the launch, Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, Lembit Öpik said:

"It is unacceptable that a young person has to be unemployed for a full ten months before being offered opportunities for training. This must be rectified as soon as possible. The VAT cut has added no benefit to the Welsh economy or to people's lives. This alternative way of spending the billions involved will make a real difference for a sustainable future,"

Liberal Democrat AM for Montgomeryshire, Mick Bates added:

"We can still see the effects in Wales of the wide scale youth unemployment in the last two recessions. We cannot allow this to happen again in the 21st Century. The Liberal Democrat plans will get young people out and about, gaining the skills experience and confidence to stay afloat in this recession."