Young people are focus of City4ADay scheme

13:00 26th March 2009

A new programme dubbed City4ADay has been developed to broaden the outlook of young people who are not in employment, education or training (Neets).

The Independent reports the programme involves having groups of Neets spend a day in the City of London to learn about opportunities available to them through discussions with local workers and group activities.

There are currently over a million Neets in the UK and with just one individual thought to cost taxpayers nearly £280,000 over a lifetime, the government is looking to reduce their numbers by a fifth over the next five years.

Frank Funnell, programme manager of the Brokerage Citylink, the charity in the City that runs City4ADay, told the paper: "It's a very fragile population so this can help. No one has to come and generally we have smaller numbers than on our other courses, but they still take a lot of resources and effort."

It is hoped the programme will encourage more youngsters to pursue courses such as IT training or apprenticeships and with one or two this has already happened.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has encouraged employees to take advantage of training opportunities whenever they arise in the current economic climate.