The UK government should spend more money to tackle youth unemployment, says the CBI employers' group.
It wants £125m ($206m) of the UK government's £500m recruitment subsidy fund to be spent on funding 50,000 new apprenticeships.
Under the CBI's plans firms would receive a subsidy of £2,500 towards the cost of training each extra apprentice.
"Young people leaving education this summer face the toughest job market in a generation," the CBI said.
The proposals come as a new crop of school leavers and university graduates are about to join the jobs market this summer.
'Lost to work'
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows the unemployment rate among 16-24 year olds has risen to 19.1%, with about 928,000 people classed as unemployed.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said work experience, mentoring and internships were needed to avoid a generation "lost to work".
The CBI also proposed a £25m fund for employers who train more apprentices than they need.
"We know that the experience of unemployment tends to affect young people more adversely than most other age groups, and we must learn from the 1980s when too many were left out of work for too long," CBI director-general Richard Lambert said.
The CBI said 38% of firms are freezing their graduate recruitment and a further 10% are cutting the number of graduates they take on.
Telecoms giant BT is the latest to shut down its graduate scheme.
Source: BBC
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