Only 200 interns have secured jobs after four months of the Turnbull government’s flagship youth employment program as the Prime Minister ramps up efforts to get employers and young job-hunters to embrace the scheme.

The government on Tuesday unveiled a new commitment from the Australian Hotels Association, which has agreed to provide 10,000 internships in the nation’s pubs and clubs, but which unions quickly characterised as a “$10 million handout” to the hotels sector.

Mr Turnbull said the internships provided under the PaTH program would help young people break out of the welfare cycle.

“It gets them an internship and then they get used to being at work, they get into the habit of work, get to understand what the workplace is about and that enables them to transition on to full-time employment,” Mr Turnbull said.

But the news came as Employment Minister Michaelia Cash revealed only 200 people had secured a job through the PaTH program in four months.