New Deal for 18 to 24 year olds 

The New Deal for 18 to 24 year olds aims to help young unemployed people find employment and increase their long-term employability.

Eligibility

New Deal offers a range of assistance to young people who are required to participate on the programme when they have a continuous claim to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for 6 months.

A continuous claim includes:

• a claim for JSA for a total of six months or more
• a claim that would have been a continuous one but for a period of interruption which did not exceed 28 days
• a claim with a number of periods of interruption none of which exceeded 28 days (this includes National Insurance (NI) Credits only cases)

Participants on the NDLP and NDP programmes will have access to the full range of provision within the New Deal for 18 to 24 year olds programme, while remaining on their existing benefits.

Early Entry

Some young people will be allowed to enter New Deal earlier on a voluntary basis. These will be young people who, for a variety of reasons, might find it particularly difficult to find work without the additional help offered by New Deal.  A New Deal Personal Adviser at the local Jobs & Benefits office / JobCentre  will be able to advise on early entry eligibility.