Preston youth zone activity and youth work plans revealed

Preston’s new youth zone is planning to offer 40 hours of activities a week when it opens later this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.

The facility – to be known as The Vault – will welcome young people through its doors every day, providing them with a raft of recreational, sporting, musical and creative opportunities.

The three-storey building is currently taking shape opposite the city’s bus station and the venue’s recently appointed head of youth work says he could sense the potential of the “deceptive” space when he took his first look around last week.

Michael Wilkinson told the LDRS that while 40 hours sounds like a lot of time to fill, he expects it will be quickly used up with all that will be on offer.

In his new role, he will lead the team that will be working with the venue’s young visitors to both stimulate and support them during the time they spend at the youth zone once it opens late this year.

Recruitment of The Vault’s youth and activity workers – an estimated 40-50 staff across all of the planned sessions – is to get under way in the coming months.   He says each will have a special – and rewarding – job.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is [finding] a large group of like-minded youth workers that are excited and inspired by…delivering the best opportunity for young people.

“We also have a massive focus on the activities we provide – and that’s the perfect balance we’re always trying to find.

“We need [people who can] deliver fantastic activities and also youth workers [who] the young people can build a fantastic relationship with,” Michael explained.

To that end, some of the staff will create a bridge between the attractions that will draw young people to the facility in the first instance and the wider benefits they can derive from being there.

“For example, we’ve got a football pitch – so it’s [a question of] where can we find a football coach that can provide youth work at the same time?   We’re trying to ensure we get the best people in the right area – and with the best skill set between youth work and the sort of profession [their particular activity] sits in,” Michael added.

Having spent the past six years working at Chorley’s Inspire Youth Zone – operated by the same charity, OnSide, that will run The Vault – he acknowledges that youth work is not always easy and is probably an “undersubscribed” profession.   However, he says the upsides far outweigh any challenges.

“It’s about making sure you are a trusted person [to the young people] – that’s half the battle sometimes.

“All the opportunities we will provide – whether it’s physical activity or creative art – are beneficial skills for young people to have.  Where the youth work comes in is in finding what they are interested in and being able to guide them to the right area.

“[There will be] so many opportunities all under one roof – that’s where we’re particularly lucky,” Michael said.

That is just one of the reasons he is quietly confident The Vault will prove just as popular as its more established sister venue in Chorey, which managed to rack up 6,000 members in the space of 12 months – one in every three young people in the borough – easily doubling its target membership for its first year.

As his attention turns to the recruitment drive for youth workers in Preston, 31-year-old Michael is mulling whether to be kinder to the applicants than he was to himself during his own interview process – during which he was grilled by a panel of young people who formed a key part of the proceedings.

“They had the freedom to ask whatever they wanted and they [mentioned[ TikTok dances.   So to show my youth worker side, [I suggested] we have a go at some – and when I turned [around], the managers from OnSide were all stood behind [me] watching,” Michael laughs.

While he is not sure whether his performance helped or hindered him in getting the job, he says it does neatly illustrate an added bonus to youth work.

“There’s always an element where I feel like they need to keep me on track with developments in the world – and learning [from] young people on a daily basis actually feels like it keeps me young.”