The Government must earmark £10 billion for 250,000 green apprenticeships over the next three years to minimise the long-term economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic, an environmental group says.
Ahead of Wednesday’s budget, Friends of the Earth said subsidising the apprenticeships would help meet the Government’s net zero by 2050 goals while staving off disastrous long-term youth unemployment.
Research commissioned by the charity with funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery found there are currently 500,000 16 to 24-year-olds out of work which could rise to one million by summer when the furlough scheme comes to an end.
According to modelling conducted by consultancy Transition Economics, one year’s unemployment for someone aged 18 to 20 could see them lose between £42,000 and £133,000 in earnings over the next 20 years.
The government is under pressure to forge a green recovery from the Covid-19 shock, meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and build credibility on the world stage as president of the Cop26 UN climate conference later this year.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, has promised green measures including a £22bn investment in a national infrastructure bank, some of which would go to low-carbon projects, and the sale of green bonds to investors.
He said: “The UK is a global leader on tackling climate change, with a clear target to reach net zero by 2050 and a 10-point plan to create green jobs as we transition to a greener future. We’re also launching new competitions that will unlock innovation in renewable energy and help us develop the cutting-edge technology we need to reach net zero.”
Up to £10billion should be invested by the government in 250,000 green apprenticeships over the next three years to help stave off a youth unemployment crisis, a leading environmental group has urged.
Friends of the Earth said such funding would cost far less than the £39billion in lost wages that it estimates would result if all currently unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds were to remain without a job for 12 months.
It also argued that a green apprenticeship scheme with wage subsidies of between 50 and 100 per cent would cost £6.2billion to £10.6billion over five years and could act as a natural successor to the furlough scheme.