The Financial Times (£) has reported that the Government’s much maligned Youth Contract scheme, whereby employers are offered financial incentives to take on young people, is to be stopped earlier than expected amid criticism of delivering poor results. The first year of the programme up to May 2013 saw 4,690 recruits completing their 6-month placements, against a target of 160,000 for the whole programme.
The scheme was to run for three years, starting in April 2012 but the DWP has written to companies to warn that it would not be accepting claims for new placements as of 6th August, a month earlier than expected, adding that it would be using the available funds for more targeted programmes.