Bars, clubs and restaurants will offer up to 100,000 jobs to young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) over the next three years in an effort to give them a first step on the ladder into work.<\/p>\n
The move comes before the publication of a report on Neets by the former health secretary Alan Milburn, who has warned that the number of young people not in work or education in the UK could rise to 1.25 million<\/a> over the next five years unless ministers intervene.<\/p>\n His full review into Britain\u2019s crisis in youth unemployment, including recommendations to the government about how to tackle the crisis, is expected soon after the autumn budget on 28 October.<\/p>\n Working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), hospitality businesses including the restaurant chains Wagamama, Nando\u2019s and Burger King<\/a>, the hotel chain Premier Inn and pub chains including Fuller\u2019s and Mitchells & Butlers will offer Neets aged 18 to 24 placements of up to four weeks to gain \u201cthe skills and confidence needed to take their first step into work\u201d.<\/p>\n The initiative, which will be launched by Andy Burnham during a visit to a hospitality venue on Thursday, comes after the DWP announced a similar scheme for retailers<\/a> including Marks & Spencer, Asda, Pets at Home and the John Lewis Partnership last month.<\/p>\n The work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, said the scheme would help young people \u201cget their first step on the ladder\u201d and build their careers. \u201cWith the UK employment rate now the second highest in the G7, this will unlock 100,000 jobs and connect young people with employers ready to take them on and help them build a brighter future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lucy Powell, the education secretary, is expected to announce a review of school exclusion changes, after research showed that students who are persistently absent from school are nearly four times more likely to end up unemployed and not in education or training.<\/p>\n A consultation will gather views on measures to support students at risk of exclusion, improve integration into the classroom and help children stay engaged in the classroom.<\/p>\n Powell said: \u201cAbsence and exclusion are too often a path to disengagement, with increased risks of becoming Neet. Too many young people who fall out of education risk being permanently left on the sidelines of work and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Milburn has signalled that Britain\u2019s benefits system should be overhauled, alongside measures to boost job support, training and apprenticeships. Ministers are understood to be considering sweeping changes to the welfare system, including scrapping a critical disability benefit<\/a> for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work.<\/p>\n Milburn has previously argued that a national apprenticeship readiness scheme should be introduced in England to close the gap for young people between leaving school and starting work.<\/p>\n The chancellor, John Healey, has indicated a readiness to curtail the government\u2019s rising benefits bill, while McFadden has said there is a moral and economic case<\/a> to shake up the welfare system, as the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances.<\/p>\n The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has made demands for cuts to welfare a central plank of her attacks on the government, telling Burnham in prime minister\u2019s questions (PMQs) on Wednesday that he should cut welfare to fund higher defence spending.<\/p>\n