Young people could get a cash boost of up to £500 as part of popular initiative

The Leader and Cabinet Members’ Young Person Grant launched on Monday to support young people with their education, employment, or training.

To be eligible for the grant, the young person must live in Telford & Wrekin - or be a child in care or care leaver living outside of the Borough.

They must be aged between 15 years (and in Year 11) and 25 years at the close of applications.

To apply, young people should say how the funding would help them access education, employment, or training or how they could use the money to start their own business.

Since its launch, the initiative has helped hundreds of young people. 

They will have until 5pm on Friday May 16 to get their applications in. A panel of judges will then assess each application. Each successful applicant will be notified by 11 June 2025.

Councillor Lee Carter, Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said:

“We are a council that cares about the future of our young people. We want to give them a helping hand to achieve their dreams.

“This money can be used to support access to education, employment, or training and as long as their application meets the criteria, we welcome creative ideas on how it could help.

“In the past the grants have been used to help fund lots of different ideas including travel costs to and from university, the expansion of a business and a new laptop to provide access to training.

“As well as the Young Person Grant, we’ve also recently launched Making a Change, another funding opportunity geared towards young people. This time encouraging young people to come together to deliver a community project that will improve their health or wellbeing or the environment.

“We really are invested in the future of our young people.”

Councillor Shirley Reynolds, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education, Employment and Skills, said:

“I’m so glad the Young Person Grant is back for 2025. It’s a highlight of the year for me.

“It’s our opportunity to listen to what our young people need and to invest in their future career aspirations.

“The deadline for applications is Friday 16 May at 5pm so that’s nearly ten weeks away, but as always, I’d encourage people to get their application in early.

“I look forward to reading through the applications later in the spring and finding out how this money could help.

“It’s a real privilege to be help our young people and to see how a relatively small amount of money can make such a big impact.

“We’re also proud to offer this scheme as we continue to develop our local youth offer, which provides activities and provision for young people, whether it’s related to health and wellbeing, education or arts and culture.”

More information or to submit an application for the Young Person Grant is available online.