FUNDING of more than £19m will help transform the fortunes of thousands of unemployed young people across Teesside and Darlington.

European cash worth £19.29m has been secured by Hartlepool Council to support 6,500 youngsters across the whole of the Tees Valley to move into education, employment, self-employment or training.

The project - called the Youth Employment Initiative - is being managed by the council, which has won the funding on behalf of 29 Tees Valley partner organisations, including the four local authorities.

The programme helps young people aged 15 to 29 and will run until July 31, 2018.

The bulk of the cash - more than £17.5m - will help youngsters who are struggling to achieve their potential, or make progress, and will provide them with the skills that employers need while helping them financially with a learning and skills fund.

The rest of the money - £1.7m - will be ploughed into offering tailored routes into careers where employment is growing, including advanced manufacturing, digital, logistics, low carbon energy and health and social care.

Those benefitting will take part in volunteering, internships, traineeships and apprenticeships.

Councillor Kevin Cranney, Chair of Hartlepool Council’s Regeneration Services Committee, said: “This is tremendous news for Hartlepool and the whole of the Tees Valley and it is a major achievement to land such a significant sum of money in the current economic climate.

“Everyone involved in this project is passionate about giving our young people the best possible start in their adult lives and this funding will help us to give our youngsters the skills, experience, encouragement and confidence to build successful careers.”

Councillor Charlie Rooney, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, added: “Young people are the future, and we owe it to them to do all we can to ensure they have the education, skills and training that will stand them in good stead for later life.

“This funding and the projects it will enable will make a huge difference in unlocking potential and creating the sort of careers that transform lives.”

The Youth Employment Initiative is part-funded by the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 "European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme" in England, with the Department for Work and Pensions as the managing authority.