Is denying young people benefits the best way to get them into work?

Today Labour leader Ed Miliband will announce plans for his party to deny young people unemployment benefits unless they agree to training.

Those aged 18 to 21 will be able to apply for a means-tested ‘youth allowance’, rather than Jobseekers’ Allowance, so that they can train in key skills.

While the intentions behind this strategy are positive – Miliband says he simply wants to get more young people into work — does this not amount to more distrust of those who face unemployment, for whatever reason?

The problem of youth unemployment has been well documented. While overall employment levels are on the rise, the number of people between 18 and 24 who are out of work remains worryingly high. The current Government’s response to this has been to push more money and publicity into apprenticeships.

One of the stumbling blocks young people face in getting into work is that – thanks to the recession – many traditional ‘entry-level’ roles have been taken by those who would normally qualify for more senior jobs. Graduates are entering careers further down the ladder than they might have done five years ago because employers have stopped taking on vast cohorts of eager university leavers.

Our feature this week also looks at this issue. The Government’s Welfare to Work programme has met with limited success, proving that – in many cases – employers are simply not willing to take on those who have been out of work for a long time. Sometimes, they assume wrongly this is because they lack aptitude or enthusiasm, when actually it’s been a run of bad luck. Thankfully, a small band of recruiters is helping to overcome this perception.

An ambition to train up young people who are out of work, as Miliband suggests, is to be applauded. But this needs to be matched by a more positive attitude from employers to be willing to take a punt on someone who has been out of the jobs market for a while, whatever their age. They get a step up in their career, the business gets an engaged and productive employee. Perhaps incentives should be focused at employers, too.