YOUTHREACH - Ireland

YOUTHREACH was established as a programme in 1988, and brought together the European and Irish experience to that date. There had been changes in education in the early 1970s, there were the European funded Transition programmes and the concepts that developed out of them, and so on. There was also considerable research into school leaving patterns.

Of course, the driving force was the youth employment crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. This was a key concern of the European Social Fund, which underpinned the programme.

YOUTHREACH is a national programme that is delivered locally. This is an important point – from the outset we agreed that what might work in Ballymun on the north side of Dublin would not necessarily work in Letterfrack, on the Atlantic coast of Galway. We needed an approach that would be coherent enough to unite the various contexts and approaches, but flexible enough to actually meet the needs of the target groups.

Participants are early school leavers – that is, they have left school with no qualifications, or with less qualifications than are accepted as an entry requirement to general employment. 15% are lone parents and 10% are Travellers.

The programme is one of a suite of responses addressing educational and other disadvantages. Social inclusion is identified as a key national priority, and considerable resources are devoted to its achievement.

YOUTHREACH has four main stands and is delivered in 150 centres. These are usually out of school locations. There is a general emphasis on experiential learning and on building relationships with the young people. Practitioners must balance safety and challenge. Participants have access to national certification – they can ‘top-up’ as well as start from scratch and we have endeavoured to build a system that is appropriate.

YOUTHREACH is inter-Departmental and inter-agency. Two Government Departments are involved in its management. Each delivers through its principal provider network.

We have established a genuinely national programme that is flexible enough to accommodate local diversity. We have worked with over 60,000 young people and achieved in excess of 75+% positive placement and progression with them. The certification outcomes have been excellent, though we do not measure progress in these terms unless the participant has identified certification targets.

There has been considerable innovation and development and we think we have a lot to contribute to the national debate on educational disadvantage. The staff are a major resource and the methodology and curricular approach that they and we have evolved represent a significant achievement. They blend practice from education (especially adult education), training and youth work to tailor approaches to individual needs. It is not easy and I constantly salute their capacities and patience.

At the level of systems, the programme is a partnership between Education and Training. At the national level, there is also the national co-ordination, the national consultative process represented by the YOUTHREACH 2000 consultation, and the range of actions that have resulted.

At the local level, a ‘District Approach’ is demanded of practitioners. By this is meant, local consultation, and dovetailing of provision. Centres and workshops are expected to establish local networks of support – sometimes these are established as management committees.

Irish policy has emphasised partnership approaches for over a decade. So, Area-based Partnership Companies were established in disadvantaged areas to co-ordinate and promote actions targeting long-term unemployment. Other partnership mechanisms include Drugs Task Forces, the RAPID programme (integrating public services), etc.

The Copping On crime awareness programme is a partnership between YOUTHREACH and the justice system and we have other similar partnerships in the area of youth arts and youth health.

EMP/SKILLS - Skills and Employability Department