In recent months, youth unemployment figures have begun to fall. However, there are still too many people who face significant barriers to employment.
Currently in the UK, there are 800,000 people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), according to the ONS. Many of these individuals are unable to find jobs or take part in work experience to give them that vital first step on the career leader. One of the reasons for this is the fact that too many candidates are chasing too few jobs. So, it’s more important than ever for them to stand out and demonstrate they possess the skills that employers need.
As part of our ongoing commitment to developing socially inclusive work environments, we have partnered with Movement to Work – a collaboration of UK employers committed to tackling youth unemployment through provision of high quality work experience and vocational training opportunities for young people.
Developing curiosity and growth mindsets
Through our Movement to Work programme, we offer work experience opportunities to help young individuals’ kick-start their career; introducing them to different employment opportunities, new skills and ensuring they are ready for work. This involves training in a variety of areas, including presentation skills, CV writing and interview best practice. Participants are also able to shadow different people in their roles and learn about key responsibilities and skills required.
We also coach all participants on the importance of developing the desire and ability to continually learn and up-skill. In the face of digitisation, roles and working environments continue to evolve. Many jobs of the future don’t even exist yet. This is what we call the Skills Revolution – and, in this environment, individuals who develop curiosity and a growth mindset early on will strengthen their career prospects.
To encourage even more participants in Movement to Work, we’ve made the process much simpler by designing and implementing a new, mobile-optimised website on their behalf. This enables individuals to search and apply for work experience placements across a range of partnering employers, at any time, like a job board.
Transformational opportunities
Initiatives like this are critical to help improve young people’s confidence and future job prospects – particularly those that have been out of work for a long time. It is clear how transformational this opportunity can be. In our own Movement to Work programme, 60 young people have taken part so far, 27 of which have found paid work.
This coming year, we are also enhancing our Movement to Work programme, by offering longer work experience placements and looking at more locations across the country in which we could run programmes. However, we won’t tackle youth unemployment alone. More employers are needed to support this initiative and provide similar opportunities across the UK.
As the world of work continues to evolve and job opportunities get more competitive, employers have to play their part in helping to create an inclusive and diverse environment and deliver positive change in society. Movement to Work is just one way we are supporting young individuals, so they can prosper in their future careers.
For more information and to see how you can get involved, visit: movementtowork.com
