Young disabled people are set to benefit from a new wage incentive which is being launched today by the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller.

From today, employers can claim a payment of up to £2,275 – when they recruit a young disabled person through Work Choice, a specialist programme that gives severely disabled people tailored employment support.

Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller said:

“Young disabled people tell me they want the same job opportunities as everyone else and in every sector of the economy.  That is why we are encouraging employers to give young disabled people a chance by offering this new wage incentive.

“This will not only help young disabled people gain practical experience in the workplace, but also showcase their talents and give them the edge in a tough jobs market.”

The Government has also announced that young disabled jobseekers on work experience will be able to access extra support to help them into mainstream placements through Access to Work.

Access to Work provides more than £100m to help disabled people into mainstream work by providing specially adapted equipment, support workers and interpreters.  Until now, the scheme has only been available to those in paid work, but from the autumn it will now be extended to those doing work experience placements as well.

This will mean more young disabled people can take full advantage of the 100,000 work experience places being offered by the Government each year to help them get the skills they need to find work.

Both initiatives sit alongside the £1 billion Youth Contract which is already improving the employment prospects of this country’s young jobseekers with support on offer to help nearly half a million young people find jobs or do training.