A SCHEME run by The Prince’s Trust, which gives young people the skills and confidence to find work, created £1.6m in social value in Worcestershire and Herefordshire in just one year, according to independent research.

The youth charity’s Team programme, a 12-week personal development course supported by Barclays, helped 159 disadvantaged young people in the two counties to discover new abilities through teamwork in the community during the last financial year. Three in four of the young people moved into work, education or training within three months of completing the programme

The research, by NEF Consulting and supported by Barclays, attributes the £1.6m social worth created in the area by the scheme to the value of helping young people into work or to engage with education, with fewer people being on benefits or in trouble with the law as a result of their participation in the programme, as well as the value of the community work they complete while taking part in it.

According to the research, every pound invested in The Team programme created £2.99 in social value. This is partly attributed to the community work young people undertook in Worcestershire and Herefordshire during their time on the programme, with each project generating an average of £3,600 value.

John O’Reilly, central England director for The Prince’s Trust said: “This research proves that in just one year, our Team programme has helped dozens of young people in Hereford and Worcester to take control of their lives and ultimately boosted the local economy. We want to help more unemployed young people in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Thanks to supporters like Barclays and all our fantastic local partners and volunteers, we are able to run the Team programme in locations across the area and continue to support even more young people to turn their lives around.”

The figures are a timely achievement for The Trust, which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Team programme this summer. The scheme, delivered by local partner Heart of Worcester College, has helped more than 187,000 young people across the UK to build their self-esteem, skills and earnings over the last 25 years.

In Worcestershire and Herefordshire, The Trust has helped 159 jobless young people to complete the Team programme in the last year alone and is calling for applicants to sign up to the scheme as it looks to help even more.