Growing up is hard enough at the best of times, but doing so at a point when work is hard to come by is harder still. With youth unemployment climbing back up the agenda, a little extra support can go a long way for young people trying to find their feet, with Guildford set to get exactly that.
The town has been chosen as one of the first places in Surrey to receive a brand-new Youth Hub, as part of a much larger government scheme that is being rolled out across the country. It is the sort of investment that doesn’t always grab the headlines, but it could end up making a real difference to plenty of young lives in the local area.
What Are Youth Clubs?
The government has announced the rollout of more than 150 youth clubs nationally, with six different Surrey towns and areas chosen to be a part of the scheme. Crucially for anyone in the local area, Guildford has landed in the first year of what is a staggered, three-year programme, sitting alongside Reigate and Banstead, whilst the remaining Surrey areas, which include the likes of Waverley, Epsom and Ewell, will have to wait until the third year before seeing anything materialise. The thinking behind the hubs is to gather a whole range of support under one roof, combining mental health and housing help with skills training.
Careers Guidance & Work Opportunities
Perhaps more importantly, the hubs will also offer such things as careers guidance and work opportunities. The plan is to set them up in the sort of places where young people already tend to gather, such as football clubs and community venues, with the stated aim being that nobody should be left more than an hour away from one by public transport. Exactly where and when Guildford’s hub will appear has yet to be confirmed, but the timing of it all is quite interesting. The announcement comes at a moment when youth unemployment across the UK has reached an 11-year high.
Added Support for Young People
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that some 729,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 were out of work between the January and March of 2026. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, described the scheme as a chance to give young people ‘real, personalised support’ that is ‘not one size fits all’, adding that he wants to make sure that help is within reach to move them into ‘learning or earning’. It is the kind of language that politicians tend to favour, of course, but the underlying problem that it is attempting to address is a very real one.
Guildford’s New Youth Club
For Guildford specifically, the announcement is a welcome change of direction. The town currently has two youth clubs that are supported by Surrey County Council, namely the Hive in Park Barn and the Haven in Ash, but it hasn’t always been a story of expansion when it comes to provision of this sort.
Back in 2013, youth clubs in both Bellfields and Stoughton were closed by the County Council in what was described at the time as an effort to save money, leaving something of a gap in the years that followed. A new and better-resourced hub would be a clear step in the right direction, and a promising one at that.