Reed in Partnership selected to deliver Jobs Guarantee

For many young people, prolonged time out of work can rapidly drain confidence and become a barrier to progression and long‑term prospects. The Jobs Guarantee has been designed to address exactly that challenge, ensuring that young people who have been seeking work for an extended period are offered not just support, but a real, paid job.

The Jobs Guarantee is a key part of the government’s endeavour to tackle long‑term youth unemployment. In its first phase, the Department for Work and Pensions has appointed six delivery organisations to lead the scheme in areas identified as having the highest levels of need.

Reed in Partnership will deliver the Jobs Guarantee in Hertfordshire and Essex, supporting eligible young people aged 18 to 21 who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. Through the scheme, participants will be matched to a fully subsidised, six‑month paid job.

The government will cover 100% of wage costs at the minimum wage for up to 25 hours per week, along with employer national insurance and minimum pension contributions. Funding is also available to support wraparound provision and training, recognising that sustained employment depends on more than a job alone.

Delivery organisations are responsible for matching young people to meaningful work, reimbursing employers for wage and onboarding costs, and supporting participants before and during their placements. Jobs created through the scheme must reflect genuine roles in the labour market and must not be primarily classroom‑based or training‑only positions.

The Jobs Guarantee will begin with an initial phase running until October 2026. The scheme is expected to expand following this first phase, with ministers indicating it will form a central part of plans to create tens of thousands of job placements for young people over the coming years.

For Reed in Partnership, delivering the Jobs Guarantee in Hertfordshire and Essex builds on our experience of supporting people into work through government‑funded employment programmes, while working closely with employers to create opportunities that respond to local labour market needs.

The Jobs Guarantee also reflects Reed in Partnership’s wider work on improving routes from education into employment. Our recent report, ‘A three lane superhighway into work’, explores how young people typically move into work through direct employment, apprenticeships or university, and how these routes are not always equally clear or accessible. By strengthening and better connecting these pathways, programmes like the Jobs Guarantee can help give young people a clearer, more supported journey into meaningful and lasting work.