A scheme by the Prince’s Trust, helping jobless young people start up in business, has created more than £600,000 in ‘social value’ in Bradford, according to new analysis.

The charity’s Trust Enterprise programme supported 70 unemployed young people in Bradford over one year, giving them the skills and confidence needed to start up in business or find work.

Analysis by nef consulting, supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, estimates that the scheme generated more than £600,000 for the district, by increasing young people’s skills and earnings. The analysis highlighted the social value of fewer people being on benefits or in trouble with the law as a result of the programme, helping to divert state funding to others in need.

Figures are based on the value of helping young people into work or self-employment, showing that for every pound invested in the scheme, more than four pounds is generated in social value.

This year the Prince of Wales’s charity celebrates 30 years of helping disadvantaged young people, aged 13 to 30, get their lives on track.

The focus is on those who are unemployed or struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or have been in trouble with the law.

The Trust’s programmes give vulnerable young people practical and financial support to get their lives on track, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by the charity move into work, education or training.

In Bradford, the charity works in some of the district’s most deprived communities, supporting some of the hardest-to-reach young people.

Set up by Prince Charles in 1976, the Trust has helped 80,000 disadvantaged young people get into business through low-interest loans and mentoring.

One Bradford success story is Steven Frayne, alias Dynamo. As a teenager, living on Delph Hill estate, he received £2,000 from the Prince’s Trust to make a DVD showing his magic skills. Now Dynamo is the country’s hottest magician with his own Bafta-nominated TV show, Magician Impossible.

Young entrepreneurs helped by the Trust create jobs for themselves and many go on to recruit others, providing jobs in areas of high unemployment.

With youth unemployment in Bradford reaching an eight-year high, the charity is aiming to inspire more young people to break out of long-term unemployment.

The Enterprise programme is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in Yorkshire.

As it celebrates its 30th year, the youth charity is urging more of Bradford’s jobless young people to sign up to the scheme, giving them the skills and confidence to become their own boss or find jobs.

In Bradford, the number of young people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance for more than 12 months has hit a 17-year-high.

Jonathan Townsend, Prince’s Trust regional director for the north of England, said: “Our Enterprise programme is proven to boost the economy despite the recession as well as transforming thousands of young lives.

“We want to help more jobless young people in Bradford. So many young people are exceptionally entrepreneurial but have no idea how to get their business ideas off the ground. Thanks to supporters like the RBS Group, the Prince’s Trust can help unemployed young people completely turn their lives around.”

Mark Winters, regional managing director, Business Banking, at NatWest, part of the RBS Group, said: “As a long-time partner of the Prince’s Trust, and the largest corporate supporter of the Enterprise programme, we’ve seen the massive difference the Trust makes to young people’s lives. This report confirms, with facts and figures, why it is so important to invest in the next generation.

“If we supported more young people into business, it would represent a significant injection to the UK economy, as well as regenerating communities.”

The youth charity, which needs to raise £1 million a week to continue its work, is also calling on Prince’s Trust businesses from over the past 30 years to come forward and get involved in the anniversary celebrations. The Trust is launching a digital high street - the Enterprise Avenue - on its website to map Prince’s Trust businesses across the UK.

For more about the Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, visit princes-trust.org.uk, or ring 0800 842842.