The £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant: a plain guide for employers in Wales
For employers. Who qualifies for the Youth Jobs Grant, when it pays, how to apply, and how it adds to the other savings on hiring young people in 2026.
If you run a café, a care home, a shop or a trades firm in Wales, there is a new reason to take on a young person this year: the Youth Jobs Grant, worth up to £3,000 per hire.
This guide covers what it is, who it covers, when the money arrives and how to apply. It is a summary, not advice: the official pages linked here are the final word, and the scheme is new, so check them before you rely on any detail.
What it is
The Youth Jobs Grant is part of the UK Government's Youth Guarantee. It opened to employers on 30 June 2026 and covers Great Britain, so it applies in Wales. The government says it could help up to 60,000 young people over three years. It closes to new applications on 31 October 2028.
Who it covers
The young person must be:
- aged 18 to 24, and
- on Universal Credit and out of work for at least six months.
According to the DWP announcement, the jobcentre identifies eligible young people, so you do not have to check benefits yourself.
Your business must, according to the grant listing:
- operate in Great Britain and be registered with HMRC,
- have been actively trading for at least six months, and
- pass the scheme's due diligence checks.
The job has to be registered with the scheme and meet its requirements. The detailed conditions (such as hours and length) are in the grant's terms and guidance, linked from the grant page.
When it pays
According to the grant listing, the grant is paid in two parts, once DWP has checked the employment and earnings through payroll (HMRC real-time information):
| When | Amount |
|---|---|
| From 6 weeks after the start | £1,800 |
| After 18 weeks | £1,200 |
| Total | up to £3,000 |
That timing matters for a small business: the money arrives after the young person has been with you for a while, so it rewards hires that last.
How to apply
- Talk to your local jobcentre about the role. In Wrexham, the new Youth Hub will bring Jobcentre Plus, the council and employers together for 16 to 24 year olds.
- Complete the short online application and accept the terms, linked from the GOV.UK grant page.
- Hire, run payroll as normal, and the payments follow once employment and earnings are verified.
How it adds up with other savings
The grant sits on top of savings that already apply when you hire young people:
- No employer National Insurance on earnings up to £50,270 a year for employees under 21, and for apprentices under 25. (We covered this, with sources, in Why hiring young people now is a smart move.)
- Know the pay rules. From April 2026 the National Minimum Wage is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8.00 at 16 and 17 and for apprentices. These are legal minimums, not targets: many good employers pay more, and young people notice.
- Apprenticeship funding for training costs, if the role is an apprenticeship.
There is also a separate Jobs Guarantee for young people who have been on Universal Credit much longer, which works differently. The House of Commons Library has a good summary of the whole Youth Guarantee.
The honest bit
A grant is not a reason to hire someone you do not need. It is a reason to take a chance on someone you might have passed over because they have been out of work for a while. Six months out of work often says more about how hard the first step is than about the person.
What makes those hires work is the same as any first job: clear hours, a named person to ask, proper training in the first week, and a kind word when someone gets it right.
Where Jobsee fits
Jobsee is starting in Wrexham with a small group of Founding Employers. During the pilot they post roles for free, get help writing them, and receive applications that are complete and relevant, from young people who chose that kind of work.
If you hire in hospitality, care, retail, the trades, leisure or childcare in or around Wrexham, become a Founding Employer. And if you would like to tell us what would make a platform like this worth your time, or what would not, our employer survey takes about five minutes.
