School drop-outs could be recruited and trained to reach disaffected young adults as part of a government shake-up of the careers service, an unpublished report leaked to The TES reveals.
Former education secretary David Blunkett pledged an army of up to 40,000 mentors, or personal advisers, for initiatives ranging from the new youth advisory and welfare Connexions service to Youth Justice and the New Deal.
But a repor from the Department for Education and Skills warns ministers to expect a shortfall of at least 13,000 personal advisers over the next four years.
The report calls for a radical programme to recruit from a pool of ex-servicemen, retired police officers, former financial advisers, the unemployed, the retired and people who may have experienced social deprivation - including school drop-outs.
FE Focus, 35
