THERE is a huge untapped human resource in this country of young people who for some reason or another have lost their way and ended up on the streets.

In Bradford, there has long been a concern about the number of NEETS – youngsters who are not in education, employment, or training – and how they will ever find a career.

So anything that can be done to support those who have ended up leaving school with nowhere to go on to is to be applauded.

The initiative by Centrepoint and construction company Willmot Dixon to create a new training kitchen in Bradford will help those who have missed out on the more traditional routes into a career in catering. It will offer qualifications to young people aged 16 to 25 who are at risk of or have experienced homelessness.

The ethos of Centrepoint is to empower and inspire young people who have missed out on the opportunities afforded to others as they leave school or go into further education. In doing this, it helps rescue those who have somehow slipped through the net and give them an opportunity they would otherwise never have received.

Of course there will be many who are not reached, and who will continue to live on the margins.

But for youngsters like Ishy Bhure, who worked to help construct the kitchen, it offered a chance he would not otherwise have had to gain qualifications, and make something more of his life. And helping Ishy and others like him off the street and into a better life is something worth shouting about.