Small businesses 'key' to conquering youth unemployment

Small firms will play a pivotal role in reducing the UK's youth and graduate unemployment figures, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said.

The FSB has called on the Government to do more to help small businesses recruit young people, and has set out an employment strategy that it intends to discuss at next week's Labour Party Conference. The FSB action points include:

• Investing £3 million of an existing £32 million money pot to help promote and extend graduate internships
• Overhauling the current apprenticeship system, which will see the national minimum wage for apprentices rise from £95 to £123 per week
• Introducing a wage-subsidy for workers that have their hours cut to lower redundancies and enable employers to retain their best staff
• The re-introduction of the 1990s Enterprise Allowance Scheme to allow those who are unemployed and have good entrepreneurial skills become self-employed

The FSB has signalled a strong intent to tackle youth unemployment, which is set to reach 950,000, with National Chairman John Wright saying:

"Graduates and school leavers are entering the job market in turbulent times, yet these business men and women are crucial to the future of our economy. Seven in ten of all apprenticeships already happen in small businesses and around 20 per cent would take on a graduate intern.

"Investing money in these areas will not only help small firms grow at a difficult time, but will ensure that the future workers and entrepreneurs are equipped with the skills they need. Small firms truly are the backbone of our economy and are ready to do their bit to help stimulate the economy, get people back into work and get the country back into recovery."

25/09/09