A YOUTH hub to help young people aged 16 to 24 years overcome social and financial barriers and move into work, apprenticeships, or training has opened in Minehead with Government funding.

The hub is based in the not-for-profit Minehead Eye youth and community centre in Mart Road, which has been running since 2010.

The Department for Work and Pensions is supporting partners Somerset Skills and Learning, the National Careers Service, NHS Somerset, and a number of local employers to ensure the area’s young people have opportunities to access personalised support across employment, skills development, housing, wellbeing, and financial services.

It has been shaped by local needs and perspectives, but also provides a broader blueprint, including health support, careers guidance, and employer engagement to help young people overcome barriers and fulfil their potential.

The hub fits into a national youth strategy launched by the Government last December, the first in more than two decades, aiming to directly confront the immediate challenges faced by young people.

It recognises for the first time how young people ‘have been shut out of the decisions that affect their lives for far too long’.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said while the issues faced by youngsters required ‘immediate action’, they could not be ‘fixed overnight’ and so the strategy was a long-term vision for the next 10 years.

The move was welcomed by West Somerset MP Rachel Gilmour, who said: “So many bright and creative minds in rural communities find their opportunities constrained by circumstances beyond their control, including unreliable transport links, limited local opportunities, and financial inequalities.

“Hubs provide these children with choices they may not have considered achievable.

“We need to invest in initiatives that ensure every young person, regardless of their background or where they live, has access to the platforms and support they deserve.”