There is little evidence Rishi Sunak’s £2 billion youth employment scheme is working, according to a new report.
The National Audit Office (NAO) watchdog warned that the government has “limited assurance” about whether the Kickstart program, which targets 16- to 24-year-olds, will have a positive effect. whether it creates high-quality jobs or not.
The government says that around 100,000 jobs have been created through the scheme, but it remains unclear whether these roles will be created, the NAO said.
The Kickstart plan is designed to create six-month work placements for young people claiming benefits after the unemployment rate spiked in the wake of last year’s pandemic.
But the NAO also warned that more could be done to ensure that the jobs created were “targeted to those who need them most”.
Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, said: “At the start of the pandemic, the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) was quick to set up Kickstart to help young people get to work as the rate increased. youth unemployment is expected to increase significantly.”
“However, the DWP has limited assurance that Kickstart is having the intended positive impact,” said Mr. Davies. “It is unknown if the jobs created are of high quality or if they would have existed without this program.”
In its report, the NAO added that the labor market has reopened in ways that were not initially expected due to subsequent shutdowns.
This increases the risk that the government subsidizes the jobs that would otherwise be created, the NAO said.
Initially, the government announced that it intended to have 250,000 young people join Kickstart by the end of the year – but less than 2,000 young people have started new roles through the program as of January 2021.
This summer, the DWP admitted that this goal is unrealistic. It is now estimated that there will be as many as 168,000 starting by the end of March 2022.
