Young people in Port Talbot are in line for expanded employment and skills support through funding of up to £5 million from existing Tata Steel and Port Talbot Transition Board funds.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens is announcing the initiative during a visit to the Community Union hub in Port Talbot, which hosts the Department for Work and Pensions Youth Hub. An initial £250,000 is being transferred immediately from the Transition Board Skills Fund to help establish the scheme.
The funding is intended to help young people find, prepare for and secure well-paid jobs in Wales, including opportunities in clean energy and green industries such as floating offshore wind. Ministers say the hub will also provide access to employment, skills, housing and health support.
The Youth Hub is a DWP scheme run in partnership with Neath Port Talbot Council, the Welsh Government, Community Union, employers, charities and training providers. It supports young people aged 16 to 24 and brings jobcentre support together with other local services.
The government says the additional funding could expand existing provision and support wider outreach youth hubs in smaller communities, where geographical barriers can make it harder for young people to secure employment.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden linked the initiative to wider youth employment support, while Community Union’s national secretary for steel, Paul McKenna, said the funding would expand provision and support jobs in green industries. The announcement is focused on the Port Talbot area as it responds to industrial transition.