The government has launched an action plan for young people in work who dropped out of school or college.
Its ‘Together We Can’ plan aims to provide workplace mentors who would provide the leadership and direction needed to get school leavers back on the path to skills and better careers.
Work and pensions secretary David Blunkett said positive role models in the workplace could provide a path back into education and training for young people who would otherwise fall into a life of anti-social behaviour or drugs.
“Education and training should be the main focus for 16- to 17-year-olds, but for those young people who have been alienated by school or college, we need to look for workplace solutions to get them back on track.
“Positive role models, acting as mentors in the workplace, could be the first step to re-engaging young people who have dropped out of education and training,” he said.
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He said the government’s job was to ensure it offered young people a way out, away from the wrong sort of role models. Once they get into the workplace they will be surrounded by older people, who can mentor them, provide guidance, and offer a route into that crucial education and training for their future.”
Together We Can is a cross-government initiative covering eight key policy areas, which will be carried out by 12 government departments.
