Hundreds of unemployed young people supported by £5m Youth Trailblazer fund

More than 800 unemployed young people across the West Midlands have already benefitted from a £5m job support fund secured by Mayor Richard Parker under the government’s Get Britain Working initiative.

The West Midlands is one of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England that secured funding to help young people who are not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) get into work.

With the third highest rate of 16-24-year-old NEETS in England, the region’s flagship Youth Trailblazer programme has been focused on breaking down the barriers that prevent young people getting into work.

The programme has been such a success that the Mayor has committed a further £5m to continue it for another year.

Mayor Richard Parker at the launch of the Youth Trailblazer in Walsall Richard

Mayor Richard Parker at the launch of the Youth Trailblazer in Walsall Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Right now, around a quarter of people in our region don’t have the skills they need to land quality jobs and that’s a big reason why too many young people are out of work.

“Giving young people skills and job opportunities is at the heart of my West Midlands Works Plan.

“The Youth Trailblazer has already helped 800 young people take their first steps on the career ladder. With another £5 million secured, we can support hundreds more to overcome the barriers holding them back and get into good jobs.”

Youth Trailblazer, which is being led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and delivered in close collaboration with partners, has seen a number of interventions put in place.

These include grant funding to help employers lay on work experience opportunities for NEETS and the opening up of key training programmes to 18-year-olds so they can progress into apprenticeships, training and employment.

Dudley Council, in partnership with their two local colleges and partners is trailing a pilot scheme to identify young people at risk of becoming NEET or ‘Not Known’ a lot earlier.

This allows preventative support to be offered at a much earlier stage to reduce the risk of them becoming NEET later on in life.18 young people have been supported to successfully secure placements across the borough with this personalised coaching, employability guidance and confidence building

RSPCA Coventry and District is one employer that has been part of Youth Trailblazer activity.

Emma Davies, marketing and fund-raising manager has been working with one young person, Niah Swift, and said: “The Youth Trailblazer has been an amazing help to us. As a small charity, independently funded to the national RSPCA, we want to strengthen our work within the local community.

“This scheme has been an effective way to do this and has led to us offering Niah a permanent position as one of our centre receptionists. She's been an asset to the organisation from day one and we're now looking to see how else we can increase our workforce.”

Niah, aged 19 said: “Working through this course, with trailblazer support and  RSPCA Coventry & District has been amazing. The staff on both ends have been nothing but welcoming and understanding, helping me settle in and take the new information at a pace that works for me was more than I could have asked for. The RSPCA Coventry & District staff at the centre were fantastic, their unwavering support meant I knew I was where I wanted to be, with the people to help guide and push me to my absolute best.'

It is expected that the Youth Trailblazer funding will support more than 1,000 NEET individuals (18-21 years old) in total in its first year with another 1,000 getting help during 2026 and 2027.