More than 1,000 work experience posts could be created in Leicestershire to help young people off the dole queue.

The city and county councils have applied to the Government for £6.5 million to help jobless young people into work.

If the bid is successful, 1,000 jobseekers will be guaranteed employment for six months, with participating businesses being paid £6,500 for each person they took on. It would be up to the employer how much they paid each individual.

It should be known by October whether the bid has been successful, and if it is, jobs could start as early as November.

Tony Webster, economic development team manager at the city council, said: "We've had 70 pledges from organisations which say they will create jobs for the scheme."

The focus of the scheme is to create new work which would be beneficial to the community.

Young people who have been without work for between six and 12 months would be referred by Job Centre Plus to one of the 70 organisations.

A Leicester social enterprise charity, called Stride, has already made a successful bid to the £1 billion Future Jobs Fund.

It secured £467,000 which it plans to use to create 78 jobs, including posts in IT, furniture assembly and administration, which will start in September.

The workers will be paid £6 an hour by Stride, slightly more than minimum wage.

Bosses at the charity said they hoped to submit another bid for funding for a further 50 jobs.

Stride chief executive Dave Brazier said: "It's brilliant that we've got the green light.

"The jobs we are offering are for people who can show the enthusiasm and willingness to learn rather than having experience and qualifications."

Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show there are 3,250 unemployed people aged 18 to 24 in Leicester, and 3,340 in Leicestershire.

STL Training, in Charles Street, Leicester, runs a similar scheme to help young people into employment. Jobseekers aged 16 to 18 complete a 10-week training course and are then given internships with businesses where they work towards an NVQ level 2 qualification.

One participant, Lindzey Langford, 18, from Thurnby Lodge, welcomed help to get young people into work.

Lindzey, who is about to go on a six-month work placement in the health and social sector, said: "I struggled getting into college and it's really hard to get a job when you haven't got the experience."

Carlton Laser Services, in Thurmaston Boulevard, Leicester, is starting an internship scheme in September in partnership with Leicester College. Managing director Dennis Kent said: "It's like growing your own – if you get young people in you can teach them the skills which are relevant to your needs."