Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced details of the government's new Youth Contract, a £1bn programme which is designed to help young people into employment.

The initiative, which is due to launch next April, will cover a three-year period and includes wage subsidies worth £2,275 per year for employers who recruit 18-to-24-year-olds.

It is hoped the programme will help at least 410,000 young people into employment, with a focus on getting the most "disengaged" 16- and 17-year-olds into school or college.

Meanwhile, extra funding for apprenticeships and £50m to help people "persistently" not in education, employment or training between the ages of 16- and 17-years old will also be available.

Clegg said: "This is a £1bn package and what's different about it is gets young people into proper, lasting jobs in the private sector.

"But it's a contract, a two-way street: if you sign up for the job, they'll be no signing on for the dole. You have to stick with it."

Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "This package aimed at tackling the problem of record levels of young people out of work is welcome.

"Businesses are ready to do their bit, and the Youth Contract will help provide a much-needed jobs boost for the young."

Full details of the programme, and other spending changes, will be announced by chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement tomorrow (29 November).

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