£5m Trailblazer To Support Young People Across Tees Valley Into Work And Training

Tees Valley was chosen in November 2024 as one of eight areas to test a new approach to helping young people move into work, education or training.

The Youth Guarantee Trailblazer came with up to £5 million for the region. Its focus was people aged 18 to 21 who were not in employment, education or training, often described in official statistics as NEET.

Joining up support around the individual

The trailblazer model was intended to test approaches rather than impose a single national programme. Tees Valley could bring existing services together, strengthen gaps and work with local authorities, training providers, employers and support organisations.

That matters because the reasons a young person is out of work or learning are rarely identical. One may need a qualification or a first introduction to an employer. Another may be dealing with poor health, caring responsibilities, transport problems or a loss of confidence after repeated setbacks.

The programme was also expected to collect evidence about health-related economic inactivity. That would help government understand which interventions led to sustained work or training, rather than simply moving someone briefly between schemes.

Building on work already in place

Tees Valley already had a Careers Hub, apprenticeship support and partnerships intended to align training with vacancies at local businesses. The new funding was presented as a chance to connect and expand that activity for a group at particular risk of becoming detached from the labour market.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the aim was to help young people access good-quality jobs being created across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. The funding announcement, however, was the start of programme design, not evidence that every participant had already found work.

The eight trailblazers were announced alongside the UK Government’s Get Britain Working white paper. That wider plan included £240 million for measures addressing inactivity and employment support.

For the region, the opportunity was twofold: offer more young adults a practical next step and produce evidence that could shape support elsewhere. Success would be measured in people staying in work, training or education, with help that matched the barriers they actually faced.

Archive source: Funding, age range and programme purpose were checked against the Tees Valley Combined Authority report originally published on 27 November 2024. The original date and featured image are preserved.