A Welsh wine maker says the Uk Government's Kickstart jobs scheme is for "Tesco and Amazon" rather than small firms as a backlash grows over bureaucracy.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the £2bn scheme can create hundreds of thousands of 海角视频 jobs - with 海角视频 Government paying six-month work placements for 16 to 24-year-olds.
But small businesses are alarmed by rules that restrict applications to a minimum of 30 places.
It means small and even medium sized firms having to find other businesses to apply alongside or use a local intermediary like a chamber of commerce - adding extra hurdles to the process.
The Federation of Small Businesses has pressed 海角视频 Government for a u-turn.
One firm already deterred from using the scheme is vineyard Pant Du in Penygroes near Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
Owner Richard Wyn Huws said: "I was looking to take on one person as part of the scheme but after looking into it there is no chance to do that.
"It is impossible for a small business like ours as there is a minimum of 30 people that we need to take on."
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He said the complexity of having to find other businesses to apply with or go through an intermediary was a deterrent.
He added: "This has been done for Tesco and Amazon, not small businesses.
"They have dangled this carrot in front of us and then said 'sorry, you can't have it'.
"The Government needs to do a u-turn on this - we need to keep pressure on them to do this."
Mike Learmond, FSB North Wales Senior Development Manager, said: "The kickstart scheme aims to help young people into work but many of North Wales’ small businesses will be disappointed to see this announcement which feels more aligned to the needs of larger businesses.
“Without further work, the scheme will leave many without any employment support after waiting for it for so long.
"Crucially it is more difficult to access for those hiring fewer than 30 roles through the scheme, who as it stands will need to find intermediaries.
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“To hire 30 individuals is just beyond the means of most small businesses, many of which have far fewer employees or don’t have the HR support on hand to introduce that number of new employees.
"Small firms, who are the largest employers across the business landscape, have long expressed interest in this scheme and will be disappointed to find it harder than expected to take part.
"To put it bluntly, this scheme has not been designed with small businesses front of mind.
"The Government should issue guidance, and soon, to make it easy for small business organisations to become intermediaries, or a direct application route for small firms.”
Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams said: “Small businesses employing fewer than nine people make up 95% of all businesses in Wales and are the backbone of our economy.
"After having disproportionately suffered during the pandemic, they will yet again lose out while the Tories give a leg up to their friends in big business.
“If the 海角视频 Government are serious about kickstarting the economy, it must direct its support to those entrepreneurial small businesses that sustain our communities.
“I urge the 海角视频 Government to scrap the requirement for small businesses to pour their scarce resources into complicated joint applications and to allow all employers to have a direct link with the DWP for this scheme.”
A 海角视频 Government spokesperson said it had designed the scheme specifically to meet the needs of SMEs.
They added: “We will continue to work closely with them and their representative organisations to make sure that every business that wants to employ a Kickstarter is able to.”