A DRIVE is underway to encourage more people to become youth workers to help tackle the problems of drugs, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Youth service bosses in Bolton are reporting problems with recruiting youth workers.

And they currently have vacancies which amount to 120 vacant hours per week on projects and in youth centres.

A youth worker's job can include helping young people with disabilities, tackling the problems of drugs and anti-social behaviour, jobs and careers advice and training and sports development.

The council run youth services support the activities of voluntary groups in the borough, working with groups such as the Bolton Lads and Girls Club, the police and other organisations.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "There is a national problem of vacancies within youth services. In Bolton we employ 13 full-time workers and 166 part-time workers with 11 part time staff seconded to the voluntary sector. This means that there are 120 hours vacant on projects and in youth centres."

The town's youth service is responding by setting up a programme aimed at developing young people interested in youth work.

It is being targeted at 16- 21-year-olds who are senior members within a youth centre or project and interested in making the transition into a youth work job.

The programme covers topics on assertiveness, confidence building, developing ideas and teambuilding. The course concludes with each participant developing an individual Career and Personal Development Plan.

Once the young person has registered an interest in becoming involved in the Young Peoples Services they can then apply to join the Bolton Youth Work Training Course - which is the part time youth work qualification.

While many voluntary youth organisations have people keen to do the job, most do not have the cash needed to train them, inspectors have said in a report.