PM David Cameron’s announcement yesterday of £250m funding to develop training programmes for businesses has been welcomed by recruiters and the manufacturing industry.

The funding (see ‘Funding boosts for mentoring and training schemes’) is “fantastic news” for the process and manufacturing sector, according to a statement from the sector’s Skills Council, Proskills UK Group.

Proskills chief executive Terry Watts says: “There is a lot to do to ensure the fund is targeted but it is good to be one of only a few sectors involved at this stage. Importantly, this is the most direct action yet showing that the government is convinced of the link between working with employers and improving the effectiveness of skills.”

“Even better is the news that government understands, or has at least noted, that there is more to industry than the large companies and their supply chains, so there is potential for our employers. Proskills is involved in the process and will also able to work with employers to help them bid into this fund.”

The understanding that something must be done about youth unemployment varies between age groups, a survey by online recruiter RecruitmentGenius.com shows.

Overall 58% felt the government was not doing enough, while 66% of those aged over 55 felt it needed to do more, compared to 59% of those aged 35-54 and just 52% of those aged 18-34.

The survey also showed that those in the South of England are least certain that the government needs to do more, and that nationally one in four people believe that too much emphasis was being put on helping youth unemployment to the detriment of everyone else.

Training provider Quest Professional’s managing director Sean Morgan also welcomed the news, saying the company was “delighted to see that the government is to provide a shot in the arm for British businesses following the extremely worrying statistics regarding youth unemployment”.

He continued: “Given the pressure on all companies at present, young recruits have to be able to hit the ground running both to help companies to sustain and grow and also for their own career progression.”