Commonwealth Fund to create 1000 graduate jobs
Published by Anne Marie Hughes on Sat 09 Jun 12 @ 22:11
A new £10m scheme to provide 1000 jobs for graduates was announced at the State of the City Conference.
The Commonwealth Graduate Fund will pay employers 50% of the salary costs for graduates they take on, up to a maximum of £10,000 per graduate for one year.
It follows two other projects linked to the legacy of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and already established by Glasgow City Council: the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative and the Commonwealth Jobs Fund.
The initiative was one of a number of new measures aimed at supporting businesses in Glasgow announced by Councillor Gordon Matheson at the 14th State of the City Conference.
Councillor Matheson also announced that the council would:
- Set up Youth Enterprise Zones, bringing together mentoring, business start-up advice, training and support, and micro-finance
- Open the Commonwealth Jobs Fund to the over-50s
- Expand the Commonwealth Games Business Portal to include other public sector contracts.
He also said the council would work jointly with Glasgow Chamber of
Commerce to implement the recommendations of the independent
Glasgow Economic Commission, which set out new proposals to take
the city's economy forward.
Councillor Matheson told the conference: "My vision for Glasgow is to create a city of excellence: where young people are encouraged to succeed; where businesses are supported to grow; and where the entire city shares the rewards.
"Times are hard. But there are things the council can do to help by maintaining our capital programme, allowing industry leaders to shape our economic strategy, by looking at new ways of funding, improving the planning system, and offering support to help you create jobs and foster entrepreneurship."
He added: "Graduates account for 32% of our workforce, well above the UK average, and I want those leaving university to believe they can fulfil their dreams in this city.
"But graduate unemployment across the UK has soared since the recession hit. The number of unemployed graduates in the country has doubled from 10% to 20% over the last three years.
"We cannot let this continue. So today I'm announcing the establishment of the new Commonwealth Graduate Fund which will provide Glasgow City Council funding for 1000 new graduate jobs in the city.
"We're investing £10 million to provide 50% wage subsidy to employers for every new job created. Every additional graduate job you create can be supported through this scheme. And it's open to every private and third sector employer in the city.
The scheme became active on November 14 and seeks to provide graduates with the help and support they need upon leaving university.
