Biffa to take on up to 2,000 young people through the government's Youth Guarantee
The waste and recycling company is the latest large employer to sign up to the scheme, which pays the wages of long-term unemployed young people for six months.
Biffa is to recruit for up to 2,000 roles for young people under the government's Youth Guarantee, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said on Friday.
The jobs cover the company's waste collection, recycling, green energy and sustainability work, and include driver's mate and recycling operations posts. Further openings are expected across Biffa's wider group, which includes Company Shop Group.
Biffa employs about 13,000 people at around 300 sites across the UK.
Who the jobs are for
The guarantee is aimed at 18 to 24 year olds who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. Those who qualify are guaranteed a six-month job.
The government covers the full cost of employing them for up to 25 hours a week at the relevant minimum wage, along with the minimum workplace pension contributions. Separately, employers can claim £3,000 for hiring a young person who has been out of work for six months.
Each recruit will have a mentor working the same shift pattern. If there is no permanent vacancy at Biffa when a placement ends, the company plans to pass the young person's details, with their permission, to firms in its supply chain and partner network. It is working with Jobcentre Plus to fill the places.
A faster route for big firms
The announcement came with a new Large Employer Pathway, designed for employers with 250 or more staff who expect to offer at least 10 jobs across more than one region. Firms on it get quicker applications and approvals, a single onboarding process and a dedicated support team.
Other employers backing the Youth Guarantee include John Lewis, Lidl, Amazon, McDonald's, Mitchells & Butlers, Severn Trent and the Premier League. The government has set aside £2.5bn over three years for its youth employment schemes.
The Jobs Guarantee started in a handful of areas, including Greater Manchester, the East Midlands and Birmingham and Solihull. In August DWP said it would be extended to all eligible young people later in the year, and it expects it to create more than 90,000 fully funded jobs by 2029.
