The young do not need moral lectures. They need chances. And chances come from businesses that are free to hire, free to experiment and free to take risks, not from the state, says Matthew Bowles

Last weekend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, announced on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that 18–21-year-olds who have been unemployed for 18 months or more will be guaranteed a six-month taxpayer-funded placement, covering sectors including construction, hospitality and care. If they refuse a placement, without “good reason”, it could result in the loss of benefits. Beneath the tough rhetoric, however, lies a contradiction: despite claiming they want to ease young people into sustainable careers, the government is pursuing policies either proven to fail or which directly hinder youth employment.

At first glance, the scheme echoes earlier attempts by previous governments to “plug the youth unemployment gap”. Past programmes included the much-derided Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) and other variations of short-term subsidised placements. Those policies were, rightly or wrongly, sold as stop-gaps for those without skills or work experience.

In principle, helping the unskilled gain exposure, confidence and training is a worthy cause. But as history shows, such schemes, while useful for grand statements, are often blunders.

The scheme’s inadequacy is especially striking when considering the current labour market. The very flexible, sometimes precarious,........

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