Lord Mandelson’s department will give hundreds of university leavers public money in order to help them travel to the likes of Borneo, Costa Rica and India.

The class of 2009, who were the first to pay top-up fees, are likely to become the “lost generation” in a job market that has already shrunk by 20% in the past year alone.

Figures have reached their highest level since records began, as the number of graduates who are unemployed six months after leaving university sky rockets.

An estimated 80,000 will hunt in vain for jobs this summer.

The number of people applying to university has risen by 10% from last year, causing the situation for this year’s graduates to worsen.

Each summer more and more will graduate, adding to the already mass competition for jobs.

Critics have said that the Government’s plan to fund those on gap years was merely a “bribe” so they can reduce unemployment figures.

The graduates able to take part in this scheme must be under 24, and the expeditions include helping to build schools, improve sanitation whilst boosting their “employability skills”.

The first leavers to take part in this scheme will spend the months running up to Christmas living in remote communities and going on expeditions, at the price of around £3000 per person.