Advocate pitches ‘national youth opportunity framework’

A youth advocate has urged the creation of a single national framework to help young people identify, access and navigate government-supported opportunities, warning that programmes are too fragmented for many to find a clear path after leaving school.

Speaking at the St Andrews Ideas Forum on Thursday at the Alleyne School, social worker Natalie Murray suggested there was no shortage of programmes for young people, but they were scattered across different agencies, making it difficult for young people to find the right opportunities.

She said: “The idea is simple: connect what exists, identify who may be missing, reach them earlier, help them navigate the opportunity, measure whether they succeed. It’s not about determining a young person’s future.