Big deal for young people under City Deal
Thousands of young people in Plymouth and across the South West peninsula will be helped along the path from learner to earner as part of the City Deal.
A range of initiatives designed to help young people affected by the recession, particularly those claiming benefits for more than six months, will be rolled out.
A Youth and Employer scheme is to be set up which will better equip young people for the jobs market. It will benefit local businesses by creating a stream of young people willing and able to work.
It includes:
- The expansion of Plymouth’s hugely successful 1000 Club. The club acts as a brokerage, marrying enthusiastic young people with jobs, work experience, internships and apprenticeships with businesses
- Smplifying the mountain of information available on many schemes – both national and local – by creating a single web-based careers portal. Research has identified 130 different schemes in the deal area alone, causing considerable confusion for young people and their families looking for direction
- Intensive case worker support for some young people to return to work after a period of unemployment. This will target 1,500 young people stuck on benefits in particular hotspots and may need extra support in terms of work skills, confidence building and practical advice
- Working with the Government on a wage progression project which will aim to help young people progress in thier career and increase their earnings, which will also widen the skills offer for businesses.
The peninsula has a higher than average number of young unemployed with over 7,700 16 to 24-year-olds on benefits. While there has been a fall in the number of young people claiming Job Seekers Allowance, there has been an increase in proportion of long-term unemployed.
Plymouth Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “This is a big deal for our young people who are either in and out of short-term work, claim benefits or are trapped in dead-end jobs with limited career prospects. We need to inspire those who feel work offers nothing for them and to reinvigorate their drive and enthusiasm."
Phil Davies, Principal of City College Plymouth said: “We need to better equip our young people to make the right choices about the best education and training opportunities available, to help get them on the path to better paid and more secure work.
“This is really good news for our young people and it is also great news for our businesses, who will be able to tap into skilled local talent. We need to think longer term and help our young people become the dynamic and talented workforce that the regional economy needs to become truly competitive in the global marketplace.”
Surveys among businesses revealed that they believe the current employment and skills system is complicated and difficult to navigate. They have also commented on the lack of skills such as communication, customer service and confidence in young people seeking work as well as basics in literacy and numeracy.
