Youth Guarantee
The Youth Guarantee looks to ensure young people can access further learning, help to get a job or an apprenticeship. This briefing outlines the guarantee’s components and where it is being trialled.
In November 2024, the UK Government published the Get Britain Working White Paper which contained various initiatives to support more people into work. As part of the white paper, the government said it will establish a Youth Guarantee. This was in response to an increase in the number of young people who were not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Through this guarantee, the government will ensure that young people have access to further learning, help to get a job or an apprenticeship, and this support will be available across Great Britain.
On the 16 March 2026 the government announced further components to the Youth Guarantee, and referred to these as a “New Deal” for young people.
Trailblazer areasThe government has put in place ‘trailblazer’ areas to trial the new initiatives contained in the white paper, including eight areas that will trial the Youth Guarantee. These are in the following mayoral authorities: Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, West of England, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and two in London.
The trailblazers were initially due to run for 12 months from Spring 2025, with £45 million provided in 2025/26 for them. It was announced in August 2025 that the trailblazer scheme would be extended by another year with further funding of £45 million.
The trials will aim to identify young people most at risk of becoming NEET, and to support them into education, training or work. Various proposals will be tested with the aim of maximising participation in the Youth Guarantee. The learning from these trials will then be used to help with the future development of the Youth Guarantee.
Youth Guarantee componentsIn the Autumn Budget 2025 the government announced funding of £820 million for the Youth Guarantee over the spending review period (the three years from 2026/27 to 2028/29). This was part of a £1.5 billion funding package to cover employment and skills support, which included £725 million for apprenticeships.
In March 2026, the government announced an additional £1 billion of funding in employment and skills support over the spending review period.
This funding will pay for a jobs guarantee scheme, a jobs grant, workplace experience and training, increased employment support and grants for employers who take on young apprentices.
Jobs GuaranteeThis provides six months of paid work to eligible 18 to 24-year-olds who have been receiving Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning. The government has said this will provide employment for 90,000 young people over the three years from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
An initial first phase of the guarantee was expected to provide over 1,000 starts in a six month period, and was rolled out in the following six areas in April 2026: Birmingham and Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Essex, Central & East Scotland and Southwest and Southeast Wales.
Following this the guarantee will be rolled out across the rest of Great Britain from November 2026.
Youth Jobs GrantThe government announced the introduction of a Youth Jobs Grant in March 2026 as part of the expansion of the Youth Guarantee. It launched on 30 June 2026.
This will provide a grant of £3,000 to employers for every young person they take on who is aged 18 to 24 and who has been on Universal Credit and been looking for work for six months. The government expect 60,000 young people to be taken on by businesses over the next three years as result of this grant.
Youth Hubs and the Youth Guarantee GatewayYouth hubs offer support for up to six months from a youth hub work coach.
In September 2025, the government said it will provide £25 million to “almost double” the number of youth hubs to “over 200 places across England, Scotland and Wales in the next three years.”. In December 2025, the government said youth hubs “will be expanded to every local area of Great Britain”, meaning there would be over 360 hubs.
In January 2026, there were 114 full opened youth hubs, which was 14 more than in January 2025.
In June 2026, the DWP announced the areas in which 178 hubs will open in the next two years. Of these, 153 are in England, 18 are in Scotland and 7 are in Wales. A further 20 hubs opened between March 2026 and June 2026 (15 in England, 1 in Scotland and 4 in Wales).
The Youth Guarantee Gateway will provide Universal Credit claimants aged 16 to 24 with a “dedicated support session”, followed by four additional weeks of intensive support. The government has said that around 900,000 young people will be offered this support over the three years.
Workplace experience and trainingThe government intends to create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements for young people and up to 145,000 additional places on the Sector based work academy programme (SWAP) over the three years. This programme is available to Universal Credit claimants and provides pre-employment training, work experience and potentially a job interview.
ApprenticeshipsVarious changes have been made to the apprenticeship system to encourage employers to take on young apprentices.
This includes the introduction of foundation apprenticeships, which the government described as an “important first step” towards the Youth Guarantee. Employers will receive an incentive of up to £2,000 for new starters on foundation apprenticeships.
Additionally, from August 2026, the government has said that it will cover the full cost of apprenticeships for 16 to 24-year-olds for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs).
The government has also announced that SMEs who take on new apprentices aged 16 to 24 will receive an apprenticeship incentive of £2,000. This will be available from October 2026.