The first young people in Wales have started work through the UK Government’s Jobs Guarantee, a programme offering up to 25 hours of fully funded paid employment a week for six months to eligible 18-to-24-year-olds who have claimed Universal Credit and been looking for work for 18 months. The scheme aims to create more than 90,000 fully funded jobs across the UK by 2029 and support 3,500 young people in Wales over the next three years. Initial placements have begun in Cardiff, Newport, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Swansea, Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Roles are matched to participants’ skills and include administrative, retail and warehouse support positions, alongside tailored help with confidence, training and other barriers to employment. The programme forms part of the UK Government’s £2.5 billion youth-employment investment, which is intended to support almost one million young people and create 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn over three years. The government says more than 56,000 young people in Wales are not earning or learning. The scheme is backed by businesses including Boots and OCS, and will be expanded later this year to all eligible young people nationwide. Wales Secretary of State Stephen Kinnock said the programme would help participants take an important first step on the career ladder, while Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden described it as a route to real jobs, wages and careers.