Two local projects have won accolades at this year's Youth Work Excellence Awards.

Monmouthshire Youth Service and Blaenau Gwent Youth Service both picked up awards at the event in Cardiff organised by the Welsh Government.

Blaenau Gwent won the 'development of young people who are not in education, employment or training' category for their Pre-Vent 14-19 Project which, despite being a new and developing project, has already had a huge impact.

The project provides targeted support for young people to help them get back into education or employment and to gain new skills in a wide variety of areas like arts, drama, IT, beauty and mechanics.

The activities are also designed to address issues such as confidence, communication, interview skills and money management.

The project currently provides support for 188 young people and so far 135 participants have gained qualifications.

Monmouthshire Youth Service won the award for the 'best new skills for young people' project for their roving reporters initiative.

This project has brought together a team of young reporters to find, research and publish stories across Monmouthshire.

As well as gaining new skills, by being involved with the local community and reporting on the things that matter to them, the project has empowered those involved and created better relations within the community. Around 250 young people have provided stories, blogs and interviews.

Deputy Minister for Skills Jeff Cuthbert, said: "These awards celebrate the contribution youth workers make to their communities and the positive impact they have on the lives of the next generation.

"The wide variety of projects that have been nominated shows the depth and breadth of work they do. Projects like these are also a great opportunity for young people to have a go at something new or learn a skill that could help them with their future education or career."