Pilot youth volunteer councils revealed

The £10.5m vTalent Year scheme, which kicks off in March, will see councils across England offer 44-week long placements in children's centres, youth work, play and other services to 16- to 25-year-olds. At least 40 per cent of the 1,000 places on offer are to go to young people not in employment, education or training. Young volunteers will attend a residential developed by the Duke of Edinburgh Award before they start their placement. The placements will lead to at least a level 2 qualification, and young volunteers will receive personal development grants of up to £1,500 when they complete the programme.

Bradford Council, one of the 33 local authorities to take part in the scheme, received £285,000 to recruit 30 young people. Michael Kelly, the council's executive member for children and young people, said: "It's a great way to receive training and a qualification which could help them find a job in the future."

Terry Ryall, chief executive of v, said the project would "draw out the hidden talents" of the young people taking part. "It will give them the chance to develop skills, confidence and experience to gain access to work while also bringing their energy and enthusiasm to the public sector," she said. "We believe that by embedding the volunteers in children and young people's services departments, they will be able to positively inform and influence those services."

The vTalent Year scheme was included in the government's white paper on social mobility that launched yesterday. Jean-Pierre Ferguson, 21, who met the Prime Minister at the launch, said: "I didn't have the confidence at school to do exams but now I have the experience of volunteering in various organisations like YouthAid I want to get the right qualifications so I can get a job in youth work."

The 33 local authorities taking part in the scheme are: Barnsley, Bradford, Brent, Brighton and Hove, Cornwall, Derby City, Derbyshire, Doncaster, Ealing, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Gateshead, Harrow, Hertfordshire, Knowsley, Lancashire, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Richmond, Sheffield, Shropshire, Southampton, Staffordshire, Stockton-on-tees, Stoke on Trent, Torbay, Tower Hamlets, Warrington, Wiltshire, Wolverhampton, and Worcestershire.