The government will expand work experience and training programs for young people following warnings that Britain spends £25 on benefits for every £1 used to support employment. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden plans to create 300,000 additional placements over three years to address youth joblessness described as a quiet crisis. Nearly one million people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training, and almost 60 percent have never worked. McFadden said the lack of opportunities especially affects those without family connections and noted fewer entry-level roles due to retail shifts and pandemic disruptions. Half the new placements will come through sector-based work academy programs offering six weeks of training followed by job interviews. Analysis shows participants are 13 percent more likely to be employed after two years, with four in ten moving into sustained jobs within six months. The target is 115,000 placements next year after nearly 100,000 occurred recently. Former minister Alan Milburn called the situation a generational scandal and criticized higher spending on benefits than on employment support. Construction leads with almost 17,000 starts. Milburn also noted rising work-limiting health conditions among youth linked to mental health and neurodiversity, questioning why diagnoses lead more often to benefits than to jobs. Reports indicate possible bursaries for families on benefits to encourage 16- and 17-year-olds to start apprenticeships.
