Although there are clear signs that employment levels are improving, huge concerns remain about the number of young people unemployed in the Bradford district.

Figures show that more than 5% of 16 to 18-year-olds in Bradford are not in work or full time education.

These youngsters are in danger of being left behind, and without a skill or educational training, there is a danger they will drop out of the system and never find their way into work.

That is why the new project by the charity Groundworks to open a centre in Wyke is a welcome one.

It has already proven successful in other parts of West Yorkshire, and the Delph Hill Community Centre project in Wyke will offer courses for young people classed as NEETS (not in education, employment or training) in a bid to improve their chances of finding a job.

As well as English and maths skills, it will also offer opportunities for work placements and help those who use it with CVs and job interview techniques.

It is vital schemes like this are available to those who have slipped through the net and will otherwise find themselves facing the abyss of long-term unemployment.

We cannot allow hundreds and hundreds of members of this generation of school leavers to simply be lost to the education and training system with no real prospect of any meaningful future employment.

As well as wasting their lives, it is a waste of the potential benefit and value these young people could bring to the whole of the community, and it is vital everything possible is done to tackle this blight.