Preston’s new youth zone, which will open later this year, is to offer 40 hours of activities every week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). The facility, to be known as The Vault, will welcome young people every day, offering a variety of recreational, sports, musical, and artistic activities.
The three-story building is now under construction across from the city’s bus station, and the venue’s recently recruited head of youth work says he saw the potential of the “deceptive” area when he first saw it last week. Michael Wilkinson informed the LDRS that, while 40 hours may seem like a lot of time to occupy, he expects it will be swiftly depleted given everything that will be available.
In his new post, he will oversee the team that will work with the venue’s young visitors to both stimulate and support them during their stay at the youth zone, which will open later this year. The recruitment of The Vault’s youth and activity workers – an estimated 40-50 people across all planned sessions – will begin in the coming months. He says each will have a unique and rewarding career.
“I’m most excited about finding a community of youth workers who share my passion for providing the best opportunities for young people.” We also place a strong emphasis on the activities we offer – which is the ideal balance we are constantly striving for.
“We need [people who can] deliver fantastic activities and also youth workers [who] the young people can build a fantastic relationship with,” Michael told me.
To that purpose, some of the personnel will build a link between the attractions that will first lure young people to the facility and the broader benefits they can get from their visit.
“For example, we have a football pitch; the question is, where can we find a football coach who can also do youth work? We’re trying to get the greatest people in the right positions – and with the best skill set between youth work and the type of job [their particular activity] falls into,” Michael added.
Having spent the previous six years working at Chorley’s Inspire Youth Zone, which is administered by the same charity, OnSide, that will run The Vault, he recognises that youth work is not always easy and is likely a “undersubscribed” profession. However, he claims that the benefits outweigh any drawbacks.
“It’s important to be a trustworthy person [to young people]; that’s half the battle sometimes. All of the possibilities we will provide, whether they are physical or creative, will help young people develop valuable skills. Where youth work comes in is identifying what they are interested in and directing them to the appropriate area.
“[There will be] so many opportunities all under one roof – that’s where we’re particularly lucky,” Michael informed us.
That is just one of the reasons he is quietly confident The Vault will be as popular as its more established sister venue in Chorey, which managed to sign up 6,000 members in a single year – one in every three young people in the borough – easily doubling its target membership for its first year. As his focus shifts to a recruitment drive for youth workers in Preston, 31-year-old Michael is debating 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 played an important role.
“They were free to ask for whatever they wanted, and they mentioned TikTok dances. So, to demonstrate my youth worker skills, [I suggested] we try some – and when I looked around, the OnSide management were all standing behind [me] watching,” Michael laughs.
While he is unsure whether his performance aided or hurt his ability to get the position, he believes it nicely illustrates an added benefit of youth employment.
“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.”
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