RISHI Sunak must use tomorrow’s Budget to create 250,000 green apprenticeships, eco-campaigners have urged.

Friends of the Earth said the Chancellor could tackle both climate change and soaring youth unemployment in one “double whammy”.

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The Chancellor is under pressure to use his last Budget before the COP26 climate change conference to push a raft of eco-changes through.

The charity calls for a green apprenticeship programme to be run alongside other schemes from the DWP, Department for Education and Treasury.

Denis Fernando, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said it would "prevent a new wave of youth unemployment, while helping the UK towards a more climate-friendly future.”

And Paul Nowak, Deputy General Secretary at TUC, added: "Young people have borne the brunt of the job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and we need an urgent plan to make sure this experience doesn't scar their future."

At the weekend the Chancellor announced that the cash bonus scheme for hiring young apprenticeships is set to double to £3,000.
And it will be extended by six months to help get more young people back to work.

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