The Director's update - June 2026

Cast your mind back…. I am talking pre-COVID and even further.

I acutely remember those wonderful village and town magnets for youth – youth clubs. Council-run, invariably, collectives for a generation edging towards adulthood whilst casting a gaze over the shoulder at the awkwardness of entering the teenage years. Hubs of fun, learning and growing.

I accept that social media, computers and so much of what is now commonplace did not exist. I also accept, having worked in these wonderful places, that not all the visitors were paragons of good behaviour. But they worked – mostly.

Youth clubs worked because here was a place where a young person could gravitate, be with their peers and not be judged, made to feel awkward and often, when needed, receive wise counsel from a trained youth worker.

Of course, it was in some ways, a utopian concept; but surely better that, than lurking on street corners with absolutely nothing to do. A youth club was often a place to develop skills, try suff. Not be judged, but encouraged.

So where are they now? No idea. Someone crept in, in the middle of the metaphoric night and stole them. It could never have been skewed government cutbacks, could it? Whatever the reason, we do not have them and amid growing swathes of unemployed young people that are fast becoming a statistical nightmare, what are we to do?

Well, firstly, let us applaud M&S who have just created a traineeship programme for 1,000 young people.

And let’s be open here, with the profits being made by multimillion - sorry, billion - pound empires and profits churned out to whomsoever, surely it makes sense, socially and fiscally, to offer chances to our young people.

I can say with certainty, that, irrespective of background or birthplace, our young people are as good and engaged as they ever have been. All they need is a chance.

For that reason, our newly formed Angling and Countryside qualification might offer that hugely important sliver of opportunity into a college place or just plain improved self-esteem.

We owe it – all of us – to offer young people a chance of life in the future. We might not be able to create youth clubs again, but we have at least now a meaningful qualification that might change the course of young persons life.

I am proud of what we have achieved: but I am even prouder of the young people of this country.