Chancellor Rishi Sunak vows to help ‘Class of 2020’ get on career ladder as UK recovers from Covid crisis
RISHI Sunak has vowed to help the “Class of 2020” get on the career ladder as the country recovers from the pandemic.
The Chancellor is gravely concerned about finding ways to support school leavers land their first job after finishing their studies.
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Youth unemployment for 18-24 year-olds could rise by 600,000 this year as the cohort face years of lower pay and limited job prospects due to coronavirus, research shows.
But speaking exclusively to The Sun, Mr Sunak said: “They are acutely in my mind because young people leaving school or college now are going to be entering a very tough labour market.
“The research shows us that if we can’t find ways to get them into work or doing something productive quickly, that’s going to have a really long-term impact on their life.
“I don’t want that so we’re looking at the best ways to support particularly school-leaving age groups and apprenticeships absolutely will be a part of that.
“It’s something I’ve always championed as a backbench MP, the Prime Minister has spoken about it so yes, that can definitely be part of the answer to that.”
Startling GDP figures published last week showed the UK falling by 20.4 per cent due to the lockdown.
Boris Johnson gave an apprenticeship guarantee to young people earlier this month as the country formally heads into a recession.
'Mother’s chemist shop is the spur'
By David Wooding, Assistant Editor
RISHI Sunak has told of his first-hand struggle to keep a small business afloat.
It drives his effort to help firms survive the pandemic.
The Chancellor revealed as a teenager he helped his mum Usha run her Southampton chemist shop through “difficult times”.
And he tells self-employed people: “I understand and I’ve got your back.”
He added: “We’re social people. We miss our friends, we miss our families.”
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Mr Sunak revealed he will hit the reopened high street with a shopping list.
Top priority is a pizza slicer.
His last one was lost during his move into 11 Downing Street.
The PM said: “We have to look after people across the board, but young people in particular, I believe should be guaranteed an apprenticeship.”
The TUC have proposed the government need to target support for the hardest hit sectors of the economy - including a jobs guarantee scheme.
They demand Ministers focus on key sectors such as leisure, entertainment and recreation which have seen the highest proportion of young workers, many at risk of losing their jobs.
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