More young people aged 18 to 24 in Allerdale are claiming out of work benefits than any other age group.

In December, 315 of the 1,125 people making claims in the borough were in the age group.

Members of Allerdale council's scrutiny committee heard the figures as they held the latest meeting for their inquiry into youth unemployment.

Denise Rollo, senior development officer at the council, said mental health and confidence issues were often a barrier to people seeking work.

The meeting heard that job clubs across the area were helping to address some of the issues stopping people getting into work, with some running courses on interview skills and CV writing.

Mrs Rollo added that more work was needed to meet the skills gap for those people who needed help to improve their skills in areas like English and maths.

Tim Westwood, area partnership and outreach manager for Cumbria County Council, said there were weekly skills courses coming up, like basic ICT and customer service.

The sub-committee inquiry was launched in August to address the issue of youth unemployment in the borough.

Since then it has been hearing from organisations involved in working with young people.

At its latest meeting, Debbie Cosgrove, project manager for the council, said the council's apprenticeship project, run with Lakes College at Lillyhall, which has seen 50 young people get into training with a view to long-term employment.

The scheme was launched in 2013 and has been supported by £45,000 of council grants each year.

So far 37 per cent of apprentices have been in the engineering sector, with 24 per cent in business apprenticeships and 11 per cent.

Ms Cosgrove said: "We don't just do it as a stopgap.

"We're looking for genuine places that are going to lead to genuine jobs."

If a company does not keep on an apprentice at the end of their training, she said, they will no longer be linked with trainees under the scheme.

As well as supporting young people into employment, the scheme has also help smaller businesses in the borough expand their workforce.

The scrutiny inquiry was originally scheduled to conclude next month.

This could be extended because of time lost due to the December floods.

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