More than 1,000 young people have been left out of work in York as a result of the pandemic.
Labour councillors are calling for Government action to extend its job placement scheme – and for the council to improve its own apprenticeship scheme.
A spokesperson for the group said more than 1,000 York people aged 16 to 24 are now unemployed – a figure that is expected to rise next month when the latest data is published.
The group is calling for action to help “ensure young people are not consigned to years of unemployment or low paid, unstable work.”
City of York Council, as a large employer, pays 0.5 per cent of its wages bill into the apprenticeship levy scheme – which then goes back into training apprentices in council departments.
But last year £500,000 went unspent and was sent back to Government. Labour councillors are calling for the authority to “step up its commitment to apprenticeship training” to help more out-of-work young people.
Cllr Bob Webb said: “With so few job opportunities, it’s a really tough time. We are calling for the Government not to simply leave the next generation of workers to fend for themselves in an increasingly insecure and challenging jobs market, by creating a fully funded Youth Jobs Guarantee that will secure both a job and a future for every young person in our city.
“This has been tried and tested elsewhere in Europe, so the UK doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel.”
The plans, a Labour motion to full council, will be discussed at a meeting on Thursday.