The National Citizen Service (NCS) has appointed the Youth Hostelling Association (YHA) to provide residential experiences for young people as part of a revamped offer from the youth participation initiative.
The contract is for two years and has been awarded to YHA (England and Wales) after it bid for the work as part of a consortium with employment support firm Ingeus.
The appointment comes as part of a new focus for the government’s flagship youth participation initiative, amid reduced funding.
At its peak the service, which was created during the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government, received £180m a year, but the government’s youth review last year instead committed £171m investment in the NCS over three years.
Previously the NCS had offered young people a two-week residential scheme within a four-week programme.
Under the new contract YHA and Ingeus will run one-week residential schemes, consisting of a five day stay away from home and focused on one of three themes, employability, independent living and social action.
As well as residential support the revamped NCS will also and to offer young people community and digital schemes to take part in.
An announcement over the commissioning of these community based and digital services will be made “over the coming months”, according to the NCS Trust, which runs the initiative.
We are excited to announce @Ingeus_uk & the @YHAOfficial have successfully won the bid to deliver the @NCS 2023-24 residential experiences for our young people, which will include a focus on employability, independent living, and social action. Learn more: https://t.co/WVuht9Mrkr pic.twitter.com/DqzNVIfkyw
— NCS Trust (@NCSTrust) January 18, 2023
“I am so excited to see our reimagined NCS experiences start to take shape, and I look forward to them being available in the coming months,” said NCS Trust chief executive Mark Gifford.
“Congratulations to the consortium of Ingeus & YHA in their successful bid to deliver an evolved residential experience for the young people of this country. Both organisations have invaluable experience in delivering NCS to young people which will support their future delivery.
“Our aim is to ensure that NCS experiences leave our participants feeling more work ready and world ready and Ingeus & YHA will deliver a one week residential experience that will contribute to that.”
YHA (England and Wales) chief executive James Blake added: “Ensuring that every young person can enjoy at least one residential experience during their teenage years is a core part of YHA’s vision.
“We are delighted to partner with Ingeus and have the opportunity to connect NCS participants to nature, outdoors, culture and heritage – and to each other – through stays and activities.”
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