Brown in jobs offer to 'modest' earners

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is pledging to secure work experience in top professions for 10,000 students from "modest income" families as part of a bid to improve social mobility.

The internships are part of the Government's response to complaints that many young people have been frozen out of jobs in medicine, the senior civil service and the law.

A Government-commissioned report by former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn warned last year that professions needed to open their doors to a "forgotten middle class" generation.

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Mr Brown, who on Saturday made an overt pitch to woo middle class voters, used his regular podcast on the Downing Street website to set out measures designed to meet Mr Milburn's recommendations.

"As part of the Government's response, from this year we will support 10,000 undergraduate internships for students from modest income families to get work experience in the top professions.

"And to ensure that thousands more of the brightest pupils from low income backgrounds go on to university, we will guarantee a package of support to get them there," he said.

"This will include a national career mentoring scheme, aimed at schools where few go into higher education," he said.

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He added: "Our mission must be to ensure that all of Britain's people, from whatever background, are allowed to develop their talents and learn a skill which will transform their lives."

Mr Milburn warned last year that Britain was losing out economically because of the elitism which sees the route to top jobs barred not only to many talented young people from working class background but also those from modest middle class homes.

On Saturday Mr Brown said he would create "more middle class jobs than ever before" and "unleash the biggest wave of social mobility since the Second World War".

He accused the Tories of planning to "squeeze" the middle classes by removing public services as part of their attempt to cut the UK's massive deficit.