Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has announced that another ‘major step forward’ has been taken in the implementation of the Mayor’s Young Person’s Guarantee.
As one of the Mayor’s manifesto pledges, the Young Person’s Guarantee promises that every young person who is out of work, training, or education for more than six months will be offered a job, apprenticeship or training programme. So far, the programme has delivered more than 10,000 jobs and 7,000 apprenticeships, whilst also resulting in smaller companies being transferred millions of pounds worth of unspent funding from the Apprenticeship Levy.
Now, building on the success already achieved, the Combined Authority has allowed a further £795,000 to be spent on supporting under-25s in the city region. This will come from the Strategic Investment Fund and will allow wage incentives of £3,000 to be offered to local employers who recruit younger people.
The goal of this scheme is to see 240 more people aged between 18 and 25 into education, employment or training over the course of the next three years.
Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said:
“I launched the Young Person’s Guarantee with a clear purpose – to send all our young people a promise of hope. Because, for far too long, too many people in our area have been held back from fulfilling their potential, not by a lack of talent but a lack of opportunity.
“As Mayor, I’m doing everything in my power to connect people to opportunities and attract more jobs to our area but, to get to the front of the queue, we need to ensure local people have the skills and experience to seize the opportunities that lie ahead for our economy.
“The investments we’re making have helped to create tens of thousands of jobs and training opportunities for people in our area. I’m incredibly proud of this achievement, however, what really matters to me is that we can improve people’s life chances. Fortunately, devolution has given us the opportunity to do just that by investing in programmes that will make a real, tangible difference to people’s lives. It’s proper levelling up in action.”
A further 720 young people will be supported through personal advice and mentoring, whilst also giving 4,500 young people aged between 18 and 24 improved employment access by 2026.
Image credit: iStock
