Young people in Staffordshire are getting more help to find their next step into education, employment or training thanks to a new three-year project offering modern work experience placements.
The Future Ready Fund project is delivered by the Careers & Enterprise Company, the national body for careers education, and supported by JPMorganChase. Available through the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Careers Hub, over 375 students will benefit from bespoke, high-quality modern work experience, alongside targeted outreach and employer engagement.
The programme comes at a critical time, with youth unemployment at close to one million nationally and employers reporting growing skills gaps as the economy slows.
The Careers Hub is one of 10 hubs across the country to receive the funding, which will see students supported over the three-year period.
Robin Hall, Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“Making sure young people have access to high-quality career advice can help them achieve their full potential, with the positive impact that can bring to local economies and areas.
“The Future Ready Project will help support some of our most vulnerable young people at an important time in their lives. Through work experience and careers programmes, they will be helped to explore their goals, pathways and opportunities while improving their skills, confidence and post-16 readiness.”
John Yarham, Chief Executive at the Careers & Enterprise Company, said:
“Too many young people face barriers to becoming career ready. Not because of a lack of potential, but because of unequal access to support, including high-quality work experience.
“The Future Ready Fund is about changing that. By working with career hubs, schools and employers to design bespoke, modern work experiences, we can help young people build confidence, skills and a clearer sense of their future.
“This partnership with JPMorganChase shows what is possible when the public and private sectors work together to tackle inequality at scale.”
Across Staffordshire, the county council’s Careers and Participation Service offers support to all mainstream high schools, working with them to ensure that young people at risk of not progressing into some form of learning after Year 11 make a successful and sustained transition into learning.
The service also offers help to young people in Pupil Referral Units and those who are not registered with a school to help them progress into post-16 learning. In a typical year, the service will help almost 1,200 young people.
At the end of each academic year, the service tracks almost 20,000 16 and 17-year-olds to check their situation in terms of employment, education or training. Attempts are made to contact any young people directly who are not in a suitable outcome and offer them practical help and support.
A progress report, including an update on calls on Government for extra funding for FE education places, will be discussed at the Economy, Infrastructure and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 16 April.
Further information on the report is available via the council’s scrutiny meetings webpage.
