Prime Minister Meets Hospitality Leaders To Boost Opportunities For Young People

Prime Minister Kier Starmer hosted a roundtable discussion this morning with hospitality organisations working to support those facing barriers to employment, training and education, setting out the government’s ambition to ensure every young person can fulfil their potential regardless of background.

He set out the government’s focus on technical education and skills, arguing that university should not be seen as the only route to success. He outlined plans to increase participation in high-level skills training, expand technical excellence colleges and prioritise youth apprenticeships to meet the needs of the economy of the future.

The Prime Minister also set out the government’s wider approach to supporting young people, including action to tackle child poverty through breakfast clubs, expanded childcare and lifting the two-child benefit limit, alongside the Youth Guarantee and a new £3,000 incentive for businesses to recruit young people who have been out of work for six months.

Sir Keir said: “I have a vested interest, I should declare, not just as Prime Minister – I’ve got two teenage children. My son is 18 tomorrow, and therefore these are live discussions in our household.

“And actually, it’s really interesting to see first-hand the sort of pressures and opportunities that young people actually go through when they’re in their teenage years.”

He added the youth jobs grant will go hand in hand with the jobs guarantee, which funds six months’ part-time employment for those out of work for at least 18 months.

The guarantee of a job for those who have been out of work is “probably the most single effective way to help people into work,” he said.

The youth jobs grant and jobs guarantee were part of a strategy aimed at lifting children out of poverty and helping young people into work, Sir Keir said.

He invited participants to share first-hand experiences of existing schemes and how they could be improved.

A report from the Resolution Foundation think tank estimated the youth jobs grant will create 2,800 additional jobs at a cost of around £36,700 each.