A total of $295 million have been allocated to the National Youth Service (NYS) to fund a number of youth development programmes this financial year.

The NYS estimates that these programmes could collectively benefit more 20,000 young people.

The bulk of the funds will go to the agency’s Summer Employment Programme, which has been allocated $112 million.

The NYS says this will be used to engage some 6,000 young people in work experience and employability skills in July and August this year.

Seventy-nine million has been allocated to the Graduate Work Experience Programme that targets tertiary level graduates while the enrichment and empowerment programme have been allocated $33 and $25 million respectively.

Acting Executive Director of the NYS Dennis Lawrence says the programmes aim to equip young people with the necessary training and life-coping skills to aid their personal and career development.