Former Tottenham Hotspur star Ledley King has backed the launch of a new jobs pilot aimed at getting black and ethnic minority teenagers into work.

The ‘Job Fit’ programme was launched by the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, yesterday.

It aims to provide more mentoring and work experience opportunities while working with businesses to create jobs for teenagers.

As part of the programme, Spurs has partnered with Tottenham Jobcentre Plus as one of four pilots being run with employers across London over the next 6 months.

Mr King, a former Spurs and England defender, has become the club’s ambassador for Tottenham’s regeneration plans since retiring from the game in 2012.

He said: “Tottenham Hotspur and its foundation have a great track record in supporting local people into education, employment and training.

“I have seen first-hand the great work that the club is doing to get local people employed through its new stadium scheme and I’m personally proud to be involved in that.”

According to data from the Department of Work and Pensions, ten years ago, the employment rate gap between ethnic minorities and the overall population was 15.2 per cent and now stands at 11.8 per cent.

However young black men are still more likely to be unemployed – with 24 per cent of all young black men out of work compared with 15 per cent of those in the whole population.

The pilot was developed by the Jobcentre Plus as a locally-tailored approach to tackle the issue.