"we are helping young people find paid work placements"
The UK Government is launching a new scheme aimed at tackling youth unemployment, offering guaranteed jobs to young people who have been on Universal Credit long-term.
The Youth Guarantee will connect 18- to 21-year-olds with paid work placements across retail, hospitality, gyms, and restaurants.
Major employers, including JD Sports, KFC, Tesco, TUI, B&M, and Home Bargains, have already pledged support.
The initiative comes amid rising numbers of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), which now stands at around one million, one in eight of those aged 16 to 24.
We take a closer look at how the scheme will work and what it could mean for young people trying to get their first foothold in the job market.
How the Youth Guarantee Will Work
The scheme, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the end of 2025, is set to launch this spring.
Initially, 1,000 Universal Credit claimants in Birmingham, Greater Manchester, the East Midlands, Hertfordshire, Essex, central Scotland, and south Wales will be eligible.
These areas were selected for their high levels of youth unemployment.
The programme will expand to reach 55,000 young people.
Participants will be offered 18-month paid placements for 25 hours per week, covering minimum wage, training, and additional support where required.
Around 900,000 young Universal Credit claimants will also receive dedicated work support sessions, including four weeks of intensive guidance.
Pat McFadden, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Today’s figures show there are 513,000 more people in work compared to this time last year, but also highlights why we must go further, especially for our young people.
“That’s why we are investing £1.5 billion to get hundreds of thousands of young people earning or learning, while former Health Secretary Alan Milburn is leading a review to help us get to the root of what is holding the younger generation back.
“Through our Jobs Guarantee launching this month, we are helping young people find paid work placements, and we urge employers to come forward and join the likes of EON, JD Sports, Tesco and TUI who are already pledging their support.”
Applications are due to open this spring, although full details on the application process have yet to be released.
What Are the Challenges Facing Young Jobseekers?
Despite increasing job opportunities, young people face structural and financial barriers to employment.
The Office for National Statistics reports a 26% rise in NEETs over six years, with men now more likely to be NEET than women.
Job vacancies have also fallen, with total estimated openings down 9.6% between September and November 2025 compared with the previous year.
There are now 2.5 unemployed people for every vacancy, up from 1.8 the year before.
Meagan Levin, policy manager at Turn2us, welcomed the initiative but stressed its limits:
“Rising youth unemployment is a complex problem. It’s being driven by tough economic conditions, rising mental ill-health, inadequate financial support and employment support that often knocks confidence and treats people like children.
“For some young people, even the basic costs of starting work, like travel, can put jobs out of reach.
“If this scheme is going to make a real difference, the government needs to go further.”
“That means adequate financial support, more effective employment support that builds confidence, and less punitive sanctions that push young people deeper into hardship.
“A job can change a young person’s life, but only if the system around it is strong enough to help them stay there.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: “I will never be satisfied while too many people’s potential is wasted, frozen out of employment, education, or training. There’s no defending it.
“It’s bad for business, bad for taxpayers, bad for our economy, and it scars people’s prospects throughout their lives.
“Just as the last Labour government, with its new deal for young people, abolished long-term youth unemployment, I can commit this government to nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment.”
The Youth Guarantee represents one of the most significant government efforts to address long-term youth unemployment in the UK.
By providing paid placements, training, and intensive support, the scheme aims to give young people a route into sustained employment while easing pressures on the benefits system.
Success will depend not only on employer participation but also on the surrounding support structures that help young people overcome financial and personal barriers.
As the scheme rolls out, it could provide a model for tackling youth unemployment at scale, but experts stress that careful monitoring and robust support will be essential to ensure its long-term impact.
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