Government pilots NCS Wales

More than 350 15- to 17-year-olds are set to take part in a pilot of the youth engagement programme in Cardiff and Swansea over the next three weeks.

NCS Wales, which was first announced in July, is being funded by a grant of £300,000 from the UK government.

Engage4Life, which has been delivering NCS in England since 2011, will deliver the scheme.

Over the next three weeks, participants will take part in a range of activities, including abseiling and gorge-walking, before organising and delivering social action projects in their local communities.

Gareth Holohan, chief executive of Swansea-based Engage4Life, said he is proud to bring the programme to Wales.

He said: “The power of the programme is incredible, and we have witnessed first-hand the inspirational change in the young people who have taken part.

“This summer, the young people who took part in the programme with us in England raised over £28,000 for local charities and causes in just three weeks – truly inspiring.”

Minister for civil society Rob Wilson said: “It is fantastic that hundreds of young Welsh people now have the opportunity to become part of NCS.

“Thanks to NCS over 100,000 young people across England. Wales and Northern Ireland are becoming more engaged in their communities and learning skills that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in September, Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to massively expand NCS if his party wins the next general election.

He told delegates he is “so proud” of NCS that he wants it to become a “rite of passage for all teenagers”.