Government to hire 1,000 new youth workers nationally as rate of Sheffield teens 'doing nothing' rises
Sheffield has one of the highest rates in England for 16 and 17 year olds doing nothing
New youth workers are being deployed across the country in a bid to support children who “feel like they’ve been forgotten”.
The Government has announced a recruitment drive of 1,000 new workers to serve towns and cities across England and find children who have fallen through the cracks before they reach crisis points.
It is set to be supported by the £450 million Youth Matters Fund, which includes £342 million for the construction and renovation of youth facilities and £109 million to fund youth work and enriching activities inaccessible to disadvantaged youngsters
The announcement comes ahead of next week’s annual Labour conference, where Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to say that Westminster has not been working for people across Britain and life is too hard and too unaffordable for many.
Sheffield has previously been identified as one of the worst regions in England for children aged 16-17 doing nothing to gain new skills or a job.
Figures show nearly 800 young people aged 16 or 17 in Sheffield were not in education, employment or training (NEET).
This is a 40 per cent rise over the past five years with the city ranked 11th out of all local authorities in England for the number of 16-17-year-olds classed as NEET in 2025.
Lisa Nandy MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “For the majority of young people, there are no youth workers to support them, no physical spaces to enrich their lives, and nothing for them to do that matches what the online world offers.
“It is no wonder that they retreat to their screens in their rooms, they feel like they’ve been forgotten.
"That’s why this programme is vital, rebuilding around a quarter of the youth workforce which was cut by the Tories, and it is just the start.
“We want no young person left behind and no young person written off, ending the violent indifference that they’ve faced for too long. This is a Labour government in action, wrapping its arms around the next generation and giving them the chance to thrive."