A new project aims to give the young unemployed fresh impetus to find work.
 
Future You – run by the Department of Education and Children’s Youth Service – will complement existing efforts going on across Government to assist those not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
 
A team of three experienced youth workers will work with up 30 young people at a time, giving them a chance to find work – whether this be through gaining voluntary experience, training, an interest, qualifications or undertaking supervised placements.
 
Ken Callister, Principal Youth Officer, said many of the 400+ unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds were already in touch with the Careers Guidance Service and other agencies in a bid to find jobs. Future You will work with harder to reach young people, with the aim of ‘getting them to the starting line’, Ken said.
 
‘We will help young people make the transition from school into the world that lies beyond,’ Ken explained. ‘Some young people make the transition easily and other struggle. They might be lower achievers who haven’t done well at school for a whole variety of reasons – whether it be ability, social circumstances or health issues, or a combination of these.
 
‘There is anecdotal evidence of some of these young people getting up late, having no purpose to their day, living at the other end of the day and following an unproductive lifestyle and we want to break that cycle and give them a sense of purpose and something to get up for.’
 
Future You will be tailored to the individual, with the aim of boosting their confidence, getting them into a routine and encouraging them to take on responsibility, Ken said.
 
Leanne Newbold, one of the youth workers delivering the project, said: ‘Some young people may start with a “leave me alone” attitude or expect others to sort things out for them, others may have the motivation but unsure of how to meet their own needs.  We want to take them on a journey, helping them to realise their future is in their hands, to the position where they have the confidence to face the future without the project and have found their pathway.
 
‘Our first step would be to meet with the young person and identify strengths and areas they need to focus on. For some, it might be gaining a qualification – or even gaining the confidence to start down that road if they haven’t done well through traditional schooling. We would want them to embark on programmes knowing they wouldn’t fail at the first hurdle and we will be guiding them through.
 
‘For others it might be looking for the opportunity to do voluntary work, which gets them interacting with adults, developing social skills and employability skills.’
 
Work placements will be supported, Ken said, with young people set challenges by, and feeding back to, Future You. ‘In an office setting, for example, we would want to see young people not only develop hard skills such as answering the phone, interacting with customers and using equipment but also building relationships with colleagues. We also aim to match aspirations, skills and qualifications.
 
‘Ultimately, gaining a young person a job will be a measure of our success but some need other things fixing first. It’s about keeping them engaged in the community and encouraging them not to drop out into a subculture of worklessness.’
 
Future U is already assisting four out-of-work teenagers who will be engaged on a project to create an outdoor attraction. It’s hoped they’ll gain fulfilment from working as part of a team on a tangible project and develop resilience, so they see a purpose in getting up early and going out to do a tough manual job on cold, wet days, said Ken. A donation has already been gratefully received, providing safety clothing.
 
‘The DED and DEC are already working successfully with employers and third sector organisations to find out-of-work youngsters opportunities,’ Ken said. ‘Future You will fill in some of the gaps, targeting young people who may not be engaged in this process.’
 
James Maynard, another youth worker on the project, said: ‘We recognise that there aren’t enough jobs to go round and this can be a disheartening wake-up call, but we know young people will accept that they need support and guidance to help them gain experience and qualifications to enter into the employment market. We are here to help.’