Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has welcomed new work incentives for young unemployed people in Hume, announced in the Budget.

Mr Taylor said due to their lack of work experience, often young people had difficulty getting the start they needed in the workforce.

The Government is investing $840 million in an innovative Youth Employment Package to help up to 120,000 young people over four years secure jobs.

The Government has created a new Youth Jobs PaTH (Prepare-Trial-Hire) Programme for young jobseekers under 25 years of age, who are in employment services.

Young people can get involved in the programme over three stages in a flexible way, to best suit their needs and build on their individual strengths and experiences.

Stage one of the pathway is intensive pre-employment skills training, which will help prepare young job seekers for work by providing them with basic employability skills.

Stage two is an internship placement that links young people with businesses, providing valuable work experience.

Up to 30,000 job seekers each year will gain a four to twelve week placement in an industry of their choice. Interns will receive an incentive payment of $200 a fortnight paid in addition to their income support, and businesses will receive an upfront payment of $1,000 to host them.

At stage three, employers who hire an eligible young jobseeker in an ongoing job will receive an accelerated wage subsidy of up to $10,000, paid over six months through simpler and more flexible arrangements.

“The Government has determined we need a bold new approach to reducing youth jobless rates, which are too high in parts of Hume. I encourage local businesses to find out more about these initiatives,” Mr Taylor said.

In addition to creating the Youth Jobs PaTH Programme, the Government is investing an extra $88.6 million in supporting those job seekers, including young people, who wish to start their own business.

Eligibility for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) will be broadened to allow access to self-employment training and mentoring for job seekers who are not on income support, including those not in employment, education or training.

An additional 2,300 NEIS places each year will also be funded, making a total 8,600 places available annually.