A new £280,000 scheme that will help a group of at-risk young people into employment, education or training has been rubber-stamped by Tameside Council's executive cabinet. 

The authority says it will focus on 46 young people who have been identified as high risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) due to their attendance in education.

Just over half of the young people involved are in Year 11 and there is a short time to engage with them and move them into education, an apprenticeship or employment.

The council says there is a multi-agency plan in place to provide additional support, which includes colleagues in education, Tameside Virtual School, growth and policy as well as external organisations including Positive Steps, Tameside College, and pupil referral services.

A before and after summer plan is in development which will follow a three-step process to individually engage with the young person through a transition key worker who talk with them to understand their aims and barriers.

To further support the young people, the Youth Employment Scheme (YES) aspect of the Tameside Employment Fund has been reinstated for this initiative. YES will give the young people access to six months paid employment at local companies, with this period’s salary being reimbursed by Tameside Council.

Young people using alternative education to that of the mainstream are often at higher risk of becoming NEET.

This has been made worse by the Covid-19 lockdowns and in May this year 12.2 per cent of young people in Tameside aged 16-24 were claiming out-of-work benefits, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is a five per cent increase from three years ago.

Cllr Leanne Feeley, Tameside Council executive member for Lifelong Learning, said: “This is a vital scheme to ensure these teenagers don’t get left behind and we’ve now got a short window of opportunity to engage with them before the academic year starts in September.

“This robust model of support will also be used for longer-term projects as this is a challenge faced each year that has been exacerbated by coronavirus.”

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