Mission: To prepare young people for employment
Funding: 700,000 is available from the Learning and Skills Council
Crime-reduction charity Nacro's Education and Employment scheme works to engage young people in education, training or employment through an intensive 22-week course.
It is targeted at 16- to 18-year-olds who are disengaged from traditional education. Many have been in trouble with the police, although referrals come from both criminal justice agencies such as youth offending teams, and more general youth programmes such as Connexions.
The centre is based around three workshops: motor mechanics, carpentry and design and photography. Typically, the young people get the chance to sample all three, and then specialise in one area that particularly appeals to them.
Other elements of the programme, which takes up to 30 hours a week, support young people with other problems they may have.
As the scheme develops the young people take on work placements, and consider how they will move on after the project.
Sam Sykes, business manager for Greater London, says: "Last year we had a 46 per cent progression rate, which isn't bad for the area. Quite a lot went into Apprenticeships, some into jobs and some went into college."
Most of the work of the project is delivered as part of the Learning and Skills Councils' Entry to Employment scheme, and the council makes 700,000 a year available. Sykes works with about 80 young people across two sites: West Norwood, and Battersea.
