Taking a closer look at National Citizen Service

It aims to build a more cohesive, responsible and engaged society, and to reach ultimately to all 16-year-olds in the summer after GCSEs. The Conservatives have billed it as a "rite of passage", supporting young people's transitions to adulthood. I genuinely wish it well.

However, I feel the programme is operationally flawed. NCS is based on an experiential model of learning underpinned by the values of teamwork and responsibility. But its effect is highly dependent on both time and skill. I am not convinced there will be enough time at the end of each day of outdoor activities or community service for sufficiently serious reflection for it to achieve its aim of a more cohesive society. In any case, such reflection on learning and experience will try the patience of most 16-year-olds.

Nor am I convinced that the skill base required of the practitioners involved has been sufficiently thought through. Running residential experiences is an exhausting and challenging process for the youth workers.

NCS's plan to bring together young people from a range of backgrounds in groups of 12 is commendable. But conducting group work with a disparate group of young people requires sharp skills. There is plenty of rhetoric about the need for high-calibre mentors. But much is also made of the contribution that may be made by university students and people from business. When given a hard time, they are likely to fall flat on their face.

And third, is "stickability". The success of NCS will depend on these disparate groups of young people sticking and working together over six weeks or more. What happens to groups that shrink by half and the six or so young people left?

In the gushing advocacy for NCS, these points are left untouched. But sooner rather than later they will have to be addressed.

Howard Williamson is professor of European youth policy at the University of Glamorgan.