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Backing Young Britain campaign launched

More than 3,000 jobs are to be created in the North East through the new government campaign ‘Backing Young Britain’.

The campaign is part of the ‘Future Jobs Fund’, announced in the 2009 Budget, aiming to create 150,000 jobs, primarily for 18-24 year olds.

The Department for Work and Pensions Minister Helen Goodman came to Newcastle to help launch the campaign, which will provide £40m nationally to fund more than 20,000 internships.

While visiting the Westgate Community College, Helen Goodman said: “In the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s hundreds of thousands of unemployed young people were left without support.

“We are determined that this should not happen again. We want every young person to get the help they need to find a job or to get training or work skills and experience.”

There will be an estimated 3,450 new jobs in the North East, and although only local authorities have currently signed up in the region, the campaign will aim to create 755 private sector posts over the next 18 months.

Sarah Green, Regional Director for the CBI, said: “Backing Young Britain points employers in the right direction to access government support and advice on a number of key programmes.”

She added: “With unemployment rising, times are particularly tough for young people trying to take their first steps in the world of work.

“Business has a vested interest in the wellbeing of the society in which it operates, and in the skills and employability of its future workforce.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .