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The Welsh Government’s flagship Jobs Growth Wales programme is on course to meet its target of creating 4,000 job opportunities a year for unemployed young people in Wales.

Launched in April this year, Jobs Growth Wales caters for 16-24 year-olds who are job ready but have had difficulty securing employment. The aim is to create 4,000 job opportunities a year between now and March 2015, with £75 million funding, with support from the European Social Fund.

Latest figures, announced recently by the Deputy Minister for Skills, Jeff Cuthbert, show that six months into the programme Jobs Growth Wales have created 3,161 job opportunities, with 1,705 young people now in work as a result.

The Deputy Minister said:

"Jobs Growth Wales is a Welsh response to the youth unemployment issue. Our absolute priority in these tough times is to create jobs and enable growth and I am delighted that we are on course to meet our target of creating 4,000 job opportunities a year for unemployed young people in Wales.

"I have had the opportunity to meet some of the young people who have taken advantage of the programme and it is encouraging to see the positive affect its having on their lives.

"Opportunities for our young people are being limited by the supply of jobs and the competition for those available. Jobs Growth Wales has been designed to tackle a key issue that young people face in their search for work, namely, how they can secure the relevant work experience employers require when they are recruiting."

As well as creating job opportunities for unemployed young people, the posts created by Jobs Growth Wales are additional to the workforce and therefore helping Welsh businesses to expand.

Participants are paid at or above the National Minimum Wage for a minimum of 25 hours per week.

The programme is divided into four separate but interlinked strands, the private sector, which is the largest of the programme, the Third sector strand,, the graduate strand and the self-employment strand, which is helping young people to set up a business.

The Deputy Minister added:

"While each strand of the programme is succeeding, I am particularly pleased with the overwhelming response we have had from the private sector. We committed to offer 2,500 job opportunities for young people per year  and just six months in 2,560 job opportunities have been created, with 1,483 young people taking up jobs through this strand.

"Early signs are that employers are doing their best to retain their new staff and a number of them are training them through the Apprenticeship programme, which is a successful outcome for all concerned.

"We must ensure we grow our programme over the coming years and encourage employers across Wales to participate. We also want our young people to apply for and take up these opportunities as evidence to date shows this programme is impacting and changing lives in a very positive way."

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