ACT says Labour is just trying to mop up a problem it created when it scrapped the youth minimum wage.
Under a new youth employment policy issued by Labour, dole payments a teenager would have received would be converted into an employer subsidy if they are taken on as an apprentice.
Labour says the $251 million proposal would ensure all teenagers were in work, education or training within three years.
However, ACT leader Don Brash says it's just an expensive bandaid for a problem that Labour made itself, when it scrapped the youth minimum wage.
Prime Minister John Key says it's another unfunded promise by Labour.
