Street Elite is a 14-week training programme for young people which is designed to boost their chances of finding work by taking part in sport.

The five-year initiative, which was launched by the charity, Cricket for Change, two years ago has a 79 per cent success rate for those taking part.

It is attracting attention –the Berkeley Group, a London residential property developer, has signalled its faith in the programmes by investing £500,000 in the enterprise.

The scheme delivers regular coaching sessions on London’s housing estates, including west London and Ealing.

Last year it worked with eight young people who are neither in education, employment or training (Neets) and will be working with 15 next year.

Street Elite tries to help those young Londoners who are at risk of getting involved in gangs and crime and on Tuesday last week (November 5) held a seminar to raise public awareness of the work at the Black Prince community hub in Kennington.

A guest speaker at the seminar was Ealing Council leader, Councillor Julian Bell, who said how inspiring he found the initiative.

Sport has helped many people get back on track in his borough, he told the audience.

He said: “Street Elite is one of the best projects I have seen for marginalised young people.

“One in five of our young people is unemployed in London.

“It’s a tough time to be a young person trying to find a job with limited opportunities, so what do we do to tackle it?

“We have lots of facilities to give our youngsters opportunities in Ealing.

“We are all under pressure with cuts, but we have prioritised our young people and are investing in our sports facilities and expanding our apprenticeships.”

He said that a recent campaign to recruit 100 apprentices in 100 days had been a great success.

Mr Bell added: “One highlight of my year is going to the Apprentice awards ceremony and listening to how young people turn their lives around.”

He said his authority is working with the government to find ways to stimulate the growth of skills in west London.

The councillor said there are plans for a community sports facility at Warren Farm, courtesy of Queens Park Rangers, which could help young people stay out of trouble.

He admitted that the 2011 riots in Ealing had made him think about how necessary it was to find a place in society and employment for young people.

Brian Dickens, former British athlete and community sports leader, pointed out that since Street Elite had operated in the area crime and anti-social behaviour had dropped by almost one third.

“The message is the power of sport,” he said.

Si Ledwith, Street Elite’s programme manager, said that as well as taking part in sport, youngsters on the scheme discuss contentious issues that they have to deal with and changes in their behaviour are monitored for the 14-weeks.

The scheme relies on the cascade effect for maximum impact as the youngsters are prepared to become coaches on other housing estates.

“The idea is to build their confidence and show they can be role models.”

He added: “This is not about sport, it’s about employability and getting people back into education.”