A SERVICE which helped 30,103 Dorset teenagers last year to get vital careers advice is being cut by almost a third.

The news comes in a week in which the county is bracing itself for dramatic cuts across all public services at Dorset County Council’s crunch meeting today.

Connexions, which provides careers advice for 13 to 19-year-olds, is being cut across the county by 27 per cent and 44 of the 76 staff have been made redundant.

Martyn Jewell, the chief executive of Ansbury, a non-profit organisation which delivers Connexions services across Dorset, said: “I am very disappointed that after 15 years of providing a quality, impartial service to young people across the area, there have been such devastating cuts to our funding.

“We have a proven success record in engaging young people, helping them to make choices about their future and in getting them into available opportunities.

“During this difficult economic period we have successfully helped more young people enter education, employment and training than at any time in the past.”

Negotiations are still taking place with Dorset County Council but at the moment the service has 27 staff on notice of redundancy within the Dorset team.

The cuts have hit the east of the county the hardest with 55 per cent cuts in Poole and 47 per cent in Bournemouth.

Teenagers there have formed protest groups and have held a demonstration against the dramatic cuts to their service.

Mr Jewell added: “In the end of course, the biggest losers in this are the young people of Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole who are having support pulled away at a time when finding jobs and planning their careers is at its most difficult for 25 years.

“As Unison has pointed out, at the very time when the government has announced the launch of the new all age careers service, we are being forced because of these cuts, to make redundant large numbers of the fully trained and professionally qualified careers advisers. “This lack of planning is very frustrating and is affecting an organisation which should be at the centre of the Big Society.”

Pam Jefferies, of Unison, said: “This is at a time when unemployment is soaring and young people are being disproportionately impacted.

There is an increased need for a flexible skilled responsive service to support young people into training and employment.”

Anne Salter, head of strategic planning, commissioning and performance for children’s services at the county council, said: “Dorset County Council recognises the pressure that the funding reduction will have.

“We believe that we have a positive relationship with Connexions and we are working closely with them to ensure the new service model provides good service quality.”