NCJ Number
141529
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The Youth Choices initiative, established in 1991, is designed to train at-risk young people in England and Wales and help them find suitable employment.
Abstract
About 7,000 young people are in training with England's National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders in 40 Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) areas. Many of these youth are unemployed, homeless, or school dropouts. About 1,500 of the youth are in training. The Youth Choices initiative is designed to provide outreach and motivation for youth who do not participate in training. The first year of the initiative's operation indicates that it is possible to encourage a substantial number of disaffected young people to participate in constructive activities. During the first year, 209 young people were contacted, 52 took up youth training, 24 began further education, 12 found jobs, and 56 were actively considering youth training. Features contributing to the Youth Choices initiative's success include a highly skilled and committed development worker, strong cooperation with other local agencies, an informal and flexible approach, recognition of the past experiences and needs of young people, and high-quality training. Barriers to youth training are noted, two youth training case studies are described, and recommendations to improve youth training are offered.