The government will require young people claiming benefits to accept taxpayer-funded job placements after 18 months of unemployment or risk losing their financial support, according to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden.
Speaking to the BBC, McFadden said young people would need a “good reason” to turn down one of 55,000 six-month placements launching next April. Valid reasons could include family emergencies that prevent attendance at appointments.
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed the scheme will begin rolling out across six UK areas with high youth unemployment from spring 2026. The initiative was first announced in September.
Under the programme, 18- to-21-year-olds on universal credit who have been job-seeking for 18 months will be offered fully subsidised placements working 25 hours weekly at minimum wage. The positions will span sectors including construction, health and social care, and hospitality, though participating employers have not yet been named.
Funded by an £820m allocation from the Budget extending until 2029, the scheme aims to create 350,000 training and work experience placements in total. The funding will cover both the placements and additional training and work support.
“This is an offer on one hand, but it’s an expectation on the other,” McFadden told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. “Because the future we don’t want for young people is to be sitting at home on benefits, when there are other options out there.”
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately criticised the initiative, claiming it demonstrated that Labour had “no plan for growth, no plan to create real jobs”.
The announcement comes as the number of 16-24-year-olds not in employment, education or training—known as Neets—has risen steadily since 2021. Latest figures show nearly a million young people are currently neither earning nor learning.
