Budget 2011: Government to fund 80,000 work experience places

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Government funding for an additional 80,000 work experience places across the UK was announced this afternoon.

During the Budget 2011 speech, Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the extra money going into the scheme would bring the overall number of vacancies up to 100,000 over the next two years.

However, he may have some work to do to convince companies to get on board. Whilst making the speech to the House of Commons, Osborne admitted less than one in 10 businesses in the UK offered work experience, much less than places like Germany where the number is one in four.

Along with work experience, funding for 50,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years was confirmed, along with an expansion to “University Technical Colleges.” Osborne confirmed at least 24 of these institutions would be opened to encourage more young people to go into practical further education.

However, it is not just those yet to be educated that need help into careers, but also those who have come out of university only to be unable to find work.

Simon Schneider, chief executive (CEO) of OmniCompete, said: “We have highly trained, highly creative and an incredibly talented pool of young adults who are crying out for jobs that match their skills.”

“They are smart, they are eager and among them could be the next Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page – we just need to take responsibility for inspiring them, encouraging them and guiding them in developing and pursuing their ideas and initiatives.”

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