Track 14

Track 14

So, what other initiatives could the government focus on? Well, due to the success of the sports clubs, new ‘open spaces’ initiatives are being discussed, for example football tournaments in local playing fields or athletics days in local parks. This could regenerate local areas and renew interest in activities for young people.

Staffing would s till be necessary, although young people could take an active role in organizing and managing competitions. This could cut down staff costs significantly. In addition to the open spaces scheme, there has been discussion of reinvigorating the ‘taste of work’ scheme, which gives young people a chance to get work experience in a variety of jobs in their school holidays.

However, this scheme has met with harsh criticism from some politicians who think that it’s a way of providing a free workforce by stealth. In fact, I think it is fair to say that this scheme will not see any renewed interest because of these criticisms.

Lastly, the scheme that there has been a lot of talk about is the outward bound activities courses, or OBAC for short. This has been successful in many other countries, such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The activity courses give young people a chance to get out into the countryside and enjoy nature. As a result of this, they also give teens a chance to learn life skills and experience adventure on a broader scale.