At their meeting last night, Sefton councillors supported a Notice of Motion to support the national the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme.

Opportunities for young people

Continuing to provide opportunities to young people through apprenticeships, partners, social value and the growth programme are among Sefton Council’s commitments.

The Council will also continue to work closely with Career Connect to ensure Sefton’s young people are given the best chance in life.

Best access to opportunities

Sefton Council leader, Cllr Marion Atkinson who proposed the Notice of Motion said: “Sefton has consistently retained 4th place out of 153 local authorities for the lowest level of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETS) and leads the way in the Liverpool City region.

“We will continue to ensure young people in Sefton have the best access to opportunities and the Government’s Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme is key to that.”

Through the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme, the Government aims to ensure that all 18–21-year-olds in England have access to education, training, or support to find employment or an apprenticeship.

Innovative

Cllr Atkinson continued: “Trailblazers schemes will test innovative ways to identify young people most at risk of falling out of education, employment, or training and match them with local training or job opportunities.

“A great example of that is the ThinkF.A.S.T (finding a solution together) Academy, which is run by former professional boxer Martin Murray, and empowers and educates young people on the importance of physical exercise, building self-esteem and confidence.”

“At Sefton Council we have already been doing that through the social value element of our Growth Programme, which has resulted in almost 3,000 hours of training and education engagement and over 60 weeks of apprenticeships for local young people. And over 90 young people have benefited from our Caring Business Charter initiative to support care-experienced young people into employment.” 

Funding for the Youth Guarantee is part of £240 million investment by the Government to tackle economic activity by enhancing existing programmes and testing new engagement and support activities.

Safety net

Cllr Paulette Lappin, who seconded the Notice of Motion and who is the Council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills said:  “It is important we identify those young people in Sefton who are at risk of falling into the NEET category, including SEND students, create a safety net for them and develop innovative ways of creating opportunities for them.

“And we will share our successes with councils across the City Region and beyond.”