Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has launched a government strategy to get the nation's 18 to 24-year-olds out of unemployment and back into the workplace.

The £1 billion Youth Contract Scheme aims to get young people earning or learning over the next three years by offering 160,000 wage incentives worth £2,275 for each youngster recruited by an employer, as well as creating a quarter of a million work experience placements.

Mr Clegg noted that prolonged periods of unemployment can have a "scarring effect" on young adults.

"What we are saying to employers is if you are wondering if you are going to take the plunge to employ a young person then we will help you make that decision by providing some money ourselves and we hope that will tip the employer in favour of the young person," the deputy prime minister added.

Meanwhile, students who are currently exploring their post-A level options might consider going straight in to the workplace rather than heading abroad to travel or starting a degree.

Norman Pickavance, human resources director at Morrisons, said the supermarket group focuses on giving young people real jobs on full pay, instead of making them carry out work experience first.

"It’s all about finding a pathway that young people can trust. There are a plethora of schemes that have been launched over recent months and I think that young people and the public at large are struggling a little to understand how they all join up," he commented.

"One of the roles that big business can play is helping to join those schemes up and we will be doing that by ensuring that the right experience and the right funding happens at the right time, so that young people do get the best chance at getting those jobs," Mr Pickavance added.