Young jobless will ‘benefit’ from three-months unpaid work says leading entrepreneur

“We all know how dire the employment situation has become for young people but it has become acceptable for many to hide behind the massive youth unemployment figures and not seriously search for work,” said Will Davies.

The new government scheme requires youngsters between 18-24 to agree to spend 30 hours per week engaged in unpaid ‘communty benefit’ work and spend another 10 hours per week searching for a job.

The scheme will intially apply to 16 London boroughs and government ministers are said to be ‘keen’ to expand the scheme accross the whole country if it proves successful.

“Our education system is failing our young people and many of them are leaving school without the very basic skills that help to make them employable,” said Mr Davies.

“This scheme should help to instill youngsters with good time-keeping, basic communication skills and some sort of work-experience that they can put on a CV. But most of all it gives them an opportunity to prove that they have the drive to drag themselves out of a ‘benfit culture’.

“There are over one million young unemployed in this country and if they become totally demoralised by the world of work we will be dealing the financial ramifications of that for decades to come,” said Mr Davies – who was an investment banker before creating aspect.co.uk

Employment Minister Chris 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.

“A something-for-nothing culture does no one any favours. It makes those who are doing the right thing cynical. And for those who head straight into the welfare state, it sets them out in life on precisely the wrong footing.”