The Youth Training Scheme (YTS) was the former name in the United Kingdom of an on-the-job training course for school leavers aged 16 and 17, managed by the Manpower Services Commission. The scheme was first outlined in the 1980 White Paper A New Training Initiative: A Programme for Action, and was brought into operation in 1983, replacing the Youth Opportunities Programme, by the government of Margaret Thatcher. Initially lasting one year, the scheme was amended in 1986 to be extendable to a second year.

The Youth Training Scheme promised training to its applicants and made use of a variety of different training locales such as businesses, colleges of further education or training workshops run by voluntary organisations. Since the training place was guaranteed by the government, and that trainees were to be paid whilst on the course, eligibility for social security unemployment benefit was withdrawn.

Accredited organisations were required to provide at least 13 weeks per year of training away from the job and include life- and social skills. A standardised form of certification was issued at the end of the training period.

In 1989 the YTS was renamed Youth Training and was placed under the management of local Training and Enterprise Councils.

Criticism

The YTS attracted political and social criticism from an early point. Critics claimed that the scheme enabled employers to exploit school leavers for cheap labour, and provided little substance in the way of genuine education. The government's response was that the scheme was an effective counter to the drop in apprenticeships and marked rise in youth unemployment seen in the early 1980s.

References

• Youth Policies in the UK: A Chronological Map, Keele University