26 March 2009
City scheme targets young people not in education, employment
or training in City fringes
The City of London Corporation is unveiling a unique scheme
which offers a gateway to an education and a career for so-called
“N.E.E.T” young people – ie not in education, employment or
training.
The NEET City4ADay workshops target the hardest-to-reach young
people in the City fringes aged 16-25 and will build their
confidence, raise their aspirations and help motivate them to make
career in the City a viable option. The workshops aim to promote
the wide ranging ‘A to Z’ of employment opportunities currently
available in the City which include Personal Assistants, IT
specialists and maintenance engineers and to break down the fringe
barriers whilst building awareness.
The City4ADay NEET workshops are the latest in a number of
Partnership Projects run by the City of London Corporation to
increase the educational and vocational attainment of young people
in City-fringe boroughs. Other projects contributing to the social
regeneration of these boroughs on the City’s edge include City
Business Traineeships (6-13 week paid placements at City firms for
high-achieving school leavers), City Careers Open House (giving
school children the unique opportunity to visit City firms to see
how their GCSE decisions might impact their career path) and City
Site Visits (demystifying the construction industry).
How best to support NEET young people is currently high on the
agenda, with the Government aiming to cut the numbers by 20% in the
next five years.The City of London Corporation’s scheme to reach
out to NEET youngsters will be based on its City 4 A Day workshops
also developed and run by the Brokerage, which provides pupils aged
12-14 from underperforming schools in the City fringes the
opportunity of experiencing working life in the City.
The City of London Corporation will work with children’s and
young people’s services throughout the City fringes including
Connexions, Fairbridge, and a number of secondary schools to locate
both existing NEET 16-25 year olds and pre-NEETs - those young
people already identified as being in danger of dropping out of the
education system.
David Pack, Partnerships Manager at the City of London
Corporation says, ‘The City4 ADay NEET workshops aims to switch on
these kids’ hearts and spirits. Young people opt out of education,
employment and training because of a lack of confidence in what
they can do with their lives. The City4ADay NEET workshops will
directly address this problem with motivational training and
aspirational exercises on site in City firms. They will aim to show
NEET youngsters that the City employs a wide range of skill sets
and inspire these young people into continuing with education or
training with the ultimate goal of securing a job. It is a short
term project with a long term gain.’
Each workshop will involve full-day visits to City firms in
which a select group of up to 10 NEET individuals will have the
opportunity to question employees on their job role, take part in a
quiz that will nurture their existing knowledge and perceptions of
the Square Mile, learn how to make the best of their CVs and apply
for City jobs, and pick up valuable interview techniques.
Frank Funnell, Programme Manager for the Brokerage CityLink
says, “We are delighted that via our relationship with the City of
London Corporation, we are now able to extend our extensive work
with young people in City Fringe boroughs to those who find
themselves in the NEET category. The workshops we have organised
and run so far have been positively received by the participants
and the youth workers who have accompanied them. Many of the young
people who have taken part have demonstrated much more potential
than the NEET label is often seen as implying, and we hope their
day in the City will widen their horizons and help give them the
confidence to get back on track.”
The workshops will be fully funded by the City of London
Corporation and delivered by The Brokerage Citylink which aims to
encourage individual talent and ambition in the City fringe
boroughs.
Ends
For further information or quotes contact rain uk – Rosalind
Jeffcoat or Lizzie Boylan Ward on 00 44 (0)20 7222 4345 or email:
name.surname@raincommunications.co.uk
Notes:
The City of London Corporation is the sole funder of the City 4A
Day NEET Workshops, which forms part of the City of London
Corporation’s wider programme of initiatives to help regenerate the
boroughs surrounding the City. The scheme is being delivered on the
City of London Corporation’s behalf by the Brokerage Citylink, a
City-based charity which raises the aspirations and awareness of
inner city residents to the career opportunities within the City of
London.
The City of London Corporation :
The City of London Corporation is committed to maintaining and
enhancing the status of the business City as a world leading
international financial and business centre and is engaged in many
partnership and regeneration projects across wider London, working
with national and other local government – as well as business and
the not-for-profit sector.