Youth Training Scheme

The YTS attracted political and social criticism from an early point. Critics claimed that the scheme enabled employers to exploit school leavers for cheap labour, and it provided little substance in the way of genuine education. The broad left alliance of musicians, artists, comedians and writers, Red Wedge, criticised YTS for its discriminatory nature toward black people and women. The government's line was that the scheme was an effective counter to the drop in apprenticeships and marked rise in youth unemployment that was seen in the early 1980s. In 1985, schoolchildren across the country went on strike against the YTS, with protests in London and Liverpool. == References ==