Dozens of Manchester teens offered sports coaching jobs in a push to tackle youth unemployment

Young people from some of Manchester's most disadvantaged backgrounds have been offered the chance to kickstart a career in sports coaching - thanks to a national campaign.

Coach Core partners apprentice coaches with local businesses looking to train up young people.

The scheme - set up by the Royal Foundation, run by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, started in Manchester last year and trained more than 25 young people in football, rugby, tennis, cricket and volleyball coaching.

The second year of the scheme began this week, with an assesment day at a Moss Side sports centre.

Dozens of young people, between the ages of 16 and 24, were invited to the two-day training, where they were introduced to potential employers and given the opportunity to run coaching sessions in front of the business leaders.

At the end of the two days, the 17 employers chose one apprentice each to take on for the next year. Some of the businesses in attendance included Sale Sharks Rugby Union club, Manchester City and Rochdale Titans Rugby.

Coach core promises to "inspire young people to build a career in sports coaching, giving them the qualifications, skills and expertise to be successful and more employable, whilst also becoming role models for their students and the wider community."

Last year's apprentices were given the chance to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, work at the Buckingham Palace Garden Party and attend the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Phil Arbelo-Dolan, the managing director at Sports Group, said: "Our apprentice, Emma, came with us with not a lot of confidence but we watched that grow. She started out as a volleyball coach but that funding ran out so she took on our boxing, she took rugby league on. Anything we threw at her really. She was helping us as a company to find new ideas. With her being young she had a lot of new ideas herself. She became a proper member of staff within weeks."

Among the apprentice hopefuls was Nicky Green, who told us getting the job would be a "dream come true":

"It would mean the world, to be fair. I've been working my whole life with my coaching, I've got my Level One so the next step is my Level Two. I'm just trying to progress my future. I want to coach my own team, I currently coach an under-11s team and I really enjoy it. It's the dream, really."