A high-profile jobs scheme in the West of England has fallen short of its initial targets, prompting calls for a radical overhaul. The £5 million-per-year Youth Guarantee trailblazer programme was launched to help 500 young people into employment, education or training, but only managed to support 300 – with just 126 progressing into work.
The scheme's underperformance has been labelled 'not good enough' by regional mayor Helen Godwin, who acknowledged that the investment of £5 million per year is not yielding sufficient results. The initiative was designed to address the region's NEET (not in employment, education or training) crisis, which affects approximately 22,000 young people. While individual success stories, such as Brandon Oputeri securing a permanent carpentry position after participating, have been highlighted, the overall impact of the scheme has been deemed insufficient.
The government and Mayor Godwin are pledging an additional £7 million to overhaul the programme for its second year, bringing the total investment in the Youth Guarantee trailblazer to £12 million over two years. The redesign will see mayoral funding channeled directly into charities and community organisations, which are expected to deliver the programme more efficiently without incurring high staff costs.
The revamped scheme aims to get 1,000 young people into work in its second year – a significant increase from the initial target of 500. This ambitious new goal is part of a broader strategy to tackle youth unemployment and make the West of England 'Neet-zero' by harnessing community-level engagement.
Labour North West MP Darren Jones highlighted the importance of schemes like this, but also acknowledged that their current performance 'is not performing in the best way'. The programme's evolution signals a determined effort to address the complexities involved in effective intervention and ensure broader impact.