A SCHEME to get youngsters into work in Darlington has met with a 65 per cent success rate, it was revealed last night.

The Gateway to Work project is run jointly by the YMCA and the Employment Service.

It involves a two-week employability course, which is part of New Deal for 18-24 year olds who are motivated and ready for work.

The scheme has been running since July, and in that time 11 courses, each involving about eight young people, have been held.

Ann Bateman, manager at the YMCA at Middleton Court, Darlington, said she was delighted with the results.

She said: "We are very proud with of the results of the courses so far. They have helped about 65 per cent of the young people who have taken part to find work, which is an extraordinary rate of achievement."

The course is designed to identify the skills and achievement of the young people taking part, who are referred to the course by the Employment Service.

During the course, the young people are helped with deciding what areas of work they are interested in and applying for, and keeping, a job.

On the first week of the two- week course, participants take part in a two-day trip to Otterburn Hall, an outdoor activity centre, which is in Northumberland. The trip includes a wide variety of team building, communications and initiative activities.

Ms Bateman said: "The idea behind the trip to Otterburn is to encourage team work and allow the youngsters to feel more at ease with one another.

"When they return to Darlington for the rest of the course, we help them with applying for jobs, and we are regularly updated on vacancies available.

"Everyone who leaves us will have a full CV, and if they have not already got a job, then they can return once a week for Jobsearch, and we always keep them informed of any vacancies which have come up.

"We can also help when they get a job. It can sometimes be a problem for young people who have been out of work for a long time, to keep the job they have found.

"We can help mediate between them and their employers, and hopefully work everything out.

"I think it has been such a success because of the support the young people get. It can sometimes be as simple as having someone to talk to."

Darlington YMCA is part of the Darlington Partnership New Deal Consortium