Connexions Staffordshire to be scrapped

A Staffordshire careers and personal advice service for young people is to be scrapped and its work handed over to two councils.

Connexions Staffordshire Ltd will be closed by April, when staff will transfer.

They will be taken on by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council after the organisation was hit by drastic funding cuts and dozens of job losses in recent months.

It has yet to be confirmed whether the closure announcement will involve further redundancies.

The councils stress that tens of thousands of teenagers will continue to get support.

The service offers advice to 13 to 19-year-olds at schools, colleges and Connexions centres.

It mainly helps vulnerable teenagers and young adults, including those at risk of dropping out of education at 16, the unemployed, people with special needs and those leaving care.

The new arrangements are likely to see the work divided into separate operations for the city and county.

For teenagers in Stafford and South Staffordshire, this would mean accessing careers advice through Staffordshire Young People's Service in future.

Councillor Ben Adams said: "Our primary objectives are to ensure that every school leaver is equipped with the skills to make good decisions about their further education and training, and that individuals needing extra personal support continue to receive it."

John Tradewell, Connexions Staffordshire board chairman, also said changes would benefit teenagers.

"Integration into the local authorities will provide the service with greater financial stability and allow us to focus on the service to young people, rather than on the financial pressures that have faced the Connexions company," he said.

Connexions as a national brand is to disappear next year as it is replaced with an all-age careers service.

Carol Jones, Connexions Staffordshire chief executive, said they were working closely with the councils to ensure transition ran smoothly and did not affect high level support and guidance offered to youngsters.

The company is already jointly owned and funded by the city and county councils.