DISADVANTAGED young adults who aspire to a career working with children and teenagers will be among the first to benefit from a new full-time volunteering programme.

Stockton Borough Council is one of only 34 local authorities nationwide to win £285,000 to pilot the new Government National V Awards.

The two-year programme will see 15 young people each year take part in a 44 week programme of vocational volunteering placements within Children’s and Young People’s Services.

The aim of the scheme is to encourage people in disadvantaged and deprived areas to consider getting a job working with youngsters.

The volunteers, aged 16 to 25, will gain opportunities, training and experience in areas including play work, nursery education, care services, youth work, leisure services, teenage advice service Connexions and local schools.

Recruitment will begin in the New Year with the first volunteers due to begin their placements in April.

Councillor Alex Cunningham, Stockton Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said it was great news for Stockton that it was one of the first authorities chosen to pilot this national scheme.

"We’ll be providing positive opportunities for a large range of local young people, including those who are not currently in education, employment or training," he said.

"The programme is clearly structured to help the volunteers involved to obtain relevant qualifications and develop a range of personal, social and work based skills which are all designed to help them develop positive and fulfilling careers in the future.

"And the volunteers will not only be helping themselves. As well as hopefully transforming their own lives, they’ll play a big role in providing excellent public services for children and young people in the borough. We can’t wait to get started," he added.

The National V Award scheme aims to give the people taking part opportunities to gain personal, social and work-based skills and hands on experience of careers within the children’s and young peoples’ workforce.

If the two-year pilot programme is deemed successful the initiative could be rolled out to other areas across the country.