LAST week an exciting local initiative was announced - the new Engineering Mining Academy, which will be launched in September.

It is an example of the sort of collaboration that we desperately need in Cornwall, as our economy transforms and we need the new talent to feed that change. This initiative is incredibly exciting as it sees two of our ‘crown jewel’ organisations working hand in glove - our OFSTED-outstanding Cornwall College and Cornish Metals, who are in the process of bringing tin mining back to Cornwall.

For young people across Cornwall, the new academy represents a huge opportunity. And, God knows, our young people need opportunities, because over the last couple of years, the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has become a hot political and economic potato.

Under the last Conservative government, the number of NEETs rose by 250,000. Today nearly a million young people are NEET and are now a serious drag on the economy and on public spending. However, this Labour government is determined to take action to tackle the problem.

We are launching a new deal for young people, which will include a Youth Jobs Grant, through which businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18-24 who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months. This is expected to support 60,000 young people over three years, while the expansion of the Jobs Guarantee across the UK to a wider age range, from 18-21 to 18-24, which will create more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs, bringing the total number of young people supported through the scheme to over 90,000 in the next three years.

Also, an Apprenticeship Incentive of £2,000 in England only for each new employee aged 16-24 taken on by an SME - and if these young people have also been on Universal Credit for more than six months, the Youth Jobs Grant is also applicable, so that would mean £5,000 for supporting that young person into work; and further reforms to the Growth and Skills Levy to prioritise young apprentices, secure value for money and give school and college leavers more opportunities than ever to build careers in cutting edge industries.

These measures are backed by a £2.5-billion investment from the government. Whilst it is certainly the case that young people that genuinely cannot work should be supported by the welfare system, it is a matter of economic fact that the drag on the economy of one million young people who are NEETs is very significant indeed.

All the research suggests that a young person who is not in work by the age of 24, is far less likely to ever get regular employment throughout their life. So, the onus is on all of us to ensure that we are giving our young people the best possible chance to get into work, by focussing their talents and skills into sectors of our economy where we are expecting the most growth over coming years.