RURAL communities need to be more proactive in promoting career opportunities for young people, according to the county's Rural Youth Work Team.
Senior youth worker Ian Layton addressed members of the Southern Area Joint Councillor Forum at Earl's Croome Village Hall, outlining the results a consultation with young people in Worcestershire.
He said while 30 per cent want to stay in the countryside, most move to urban areas to find career opportunities.
"We are failing those 30 percent who wish to stay in the countryside if only they could find the opportunities," Mr Layton said.
He added the majority of country businesses recruited employees from towns because there were already qualified.
"The whole commercial problem is structured against us," he said.
"We really do need to be addressing all these issues right through to what the people in the villages feel about young people. The key to sustainability isn't bricks and mortar it's the attitude of the people who live within it."
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