Young people 'could benefit from green skills'

Learning new skills could help young people secure jobs in the green sector, it has been suggested.

Communities secretary John Denham recently announced that 175 young people are to be offered apprenticeships to work on environmental projects in deprived communities and the Green Alliance has welcomed the initiative.

A spokeswoman for the environmental organisation explained that giving them the opportunity to gain experience will offer young people the chance to become part of "an area which is likely to expand in [the] future".

The representative said that they could play a key role in attempts to "improve the housing stock, tackle fuel poverty in deprived areas and reduce carbon emissions", something that could interest those at university who will be seeking graduate jobs in the near future.

She also called for the scheme to be opened up to a greater number of young people, stating that 175 is "a very low number".