A FOOTBALL coach is among almost 3,000 young people in the region who have been helped back to work by the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) initiative.

James Keep, 24, has landed the coaching job at Newcastle United Foundation, thanks to the programme which targets young people who have have been unemployed for longer than six months, and offers them places in temporary work earning at least the national minimum wage.

The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion has reported that 2,788 people in the region have been employed through FJF between October 2009 and December last year. It aims to have created a total of 3,450 temporary jobs by March.

Mr Keep was unemployed when he took up a place on the Get Into Football Coaching course with the Princes Trust, which led him to the Newcastle United Foundation.

After his course ended, Newcastle United Foundation made him a full-time employee on a sixmonth contract when financial assistance was offered through FJF.

Mr Keep works as a community football coach helping youngsters aged between ten and 18 to develop their skills.