Financial Resolutions, 1978: Financial Statement, Budget, 1978. - Youth employment
The Government regard youth employment as a critical and priority issue. Demographic changes now under way in this country are of immense importance for employment generally and for the employment of youth in particular. The 1975 EEC labour force sample survey showed that almost 50 per cent of the total population is under 25. Unemployment in this age group in 1975 constituted almost 44 per cent of total unemployment even though the labour force under 25 years of age represented only 30 per cent of the total.
Any government which did not respond to this problem would not be doing their duty. It is to the young people of this country that we look for a spirit of enterprise and innovation.
Our special concern for young people has already been made evident. I am providing a special allocation of £5 million to-day to finance schemes for youth employment. Apart from substantially increasing the number of training opportunities with AnCO, which is expected to have a through-put of 15,500 in 1978, and greatly improving the employment incentive scheme so far as it applies to the employment of school leavers, we have taken the innovative step of setting up the Employment Action Team to devise schemes to stimulate youth employment. The Government have already examined and passed a number of schemes put forward by the team and these will now be implemented.
These schemes are as follows:
—A Work Experience Programme
—An Environmental Improvement Schemes Programme
—The recruitment of 150 first-year construction industry apprentices by local authorities, and
—The provision of financial assistance towards the cost of a community-based survey relating to unemployment problems in the Ballyfermot area, with a view to the possibility of further assistance for similar projects.
The team will also have the job of monitoring and advising on quick implementation of these schemes.
In all, I estimate that special employment schemes targeted specifically at young people will generate 5,000 jobs. Of course, many of the total of almost 18,000 extra jobs to be created by direct Government action in building and construction and in the public sector will be filled by young people. As a result of this and the other stimulatory measures I am announcing to-day, I am confident that our young people will quickly find new opportunities opening up for them which will allow them to play their full and proper role in national development.