A N N UA L R E P O RT
2015
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MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER & CEO LAURA-JANE RAWLINGS
It seems like a lifetime ago that the conversation about forming Youth Employment UK (YEUK) started, and yet it was only late November 2011. At that time we had more than 1 million young people unemployed and I remember thinking to myself that “this is just not good enough” and that I wanted to do something about it. Our work since then has been focused on identifying the things that do not happen enough in the youth employment space and making sure YEUK filled the gaps. Supporting a youth voice was our first challenge, joining up the dots and sharing best practice became a very important second. As you will see in this report we have made huge leaps and carried out a significant amount of work which is something to celebrate given the fact that we started as an organisation built on volunteers and passion! We are now a leading organisation focused on tackling youth unemployment and we are highly regarded by politicians, employers, charities, representative and trade bodies plus leading experts in the field, as well as young people and organisations working with them. We still have a long way to go – despite the work done by the coalition government and those working in this area youth unemployment is still way too high. We cannot afford to lose another generation to youth unemployment. Our work has never been more important and it really is a pleasure to share with you our successes and our future plans. My thanks to all of our supporters, advisory board, volunteers and friends without which YEUK would still just be an idea. I am indebted to you all.
Laura-Jane Rawlings
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THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE
Youth Employment UK is honestly one of the most important organisations for young people in this country in my opinion. The standard of careers education for teenagers and young adults is varied and largely lacking, and this is leaving a huge scar on our generation. I first became involved with YEUK as an unemployed graduate frustrated about the situation I found myself in, but knowing that just sitting around and doing nothing wouldn’t help anything. Since then I have gained confidence and skills, and landed four jobs. Two were in retail, which helped tide me over when I needed it, and I am now working in the youth sector in two part time jobs, helping to inspire and support the next generation of young people with their own journeys! YEUK has played a huge part in this, and I would urge any young person who is interested, frustrated, or overwhelmed with youth employment issues to get involved. Jenny Mullinder, YEUK Ambassador
Youth unemployment has been a major issue in the UK for many years, young people have been the hardest affected by the recession and despite huge amounts of intervention and eventual economic recovery the youth unemployment picture remains bleak. 735,000 young people aged 16-24 years are unemployed according to the latest statistics, and many of those young people are experiencing long-term youth unemployment having been without work for more than 12 months. In addition to the young people who are unemployed there are a worryingly high number of young people who are not in any data set and therefore their economic inactivity is unrecorded. It is also clear that a significant number of young people are “underemployed”, because they are working in roles that are not suited to their job needs – for example they are over qualified for their role, or are working on zero hours or temporary contacts when in fact they want full-time permanent work. The interventions that have been put in place since 2011, when the youth unemployment figure reached its highest level are not working at the rate that they should and are certainly not offering value for the money spent. The factors causing youth unemployment are varied and reasons for high youth unemployment in some regions are quite bespoke. Factors include: • The state of the economy • Too few of the new jobs/apprenticeships being created going to young people • Reductions in youth services • Poor quality or non-existent careers information, advice and guidance • Lack of entry-level jobs • Difficulties gaining work experience • Credentialism – a focus on academic qualifications over employment skills and experiences • Industries fading away from regions • Complex and unhelpful welfare and support system • Expectation and skills mismatch – young people do not understand the skills they need to develop for work or what work is available • Limited opportunities for enterprise or employability education • Failure to co-ordinate policy and initiatives on youth unemployment
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There are significant economic and social costs of youth unemployment – for example the estimated cost of youth unemployment over a decade identified by ACEVO in 2012 was £28bn. However, the cost of young people experiencing long-term youth unemployment includes scarring emotional effects as well as reducing their personal chances of having long-term, sustainable employment. When young people do not work or are unemployed they are not contributing as they could to the economy and that too has a knock-on effect as employers cannot recruit the skills that they need to replace an ageing workforce.
In the youth employment space there is now a huge range of organisations working to help young people, and there are many government programmes and a real appetite from the employment community to support our young people. However a lack of joined up thinking and a multi-agency approach has not created the outcomes for young people. Young people have the right to meaningful, sustainable employment that will allow them to learn, progress and contribute to the world they live in.
CASE STUDY OF A YEUK YOUTH AMBASSADOR #01
Jenny Mullinder Age: 23 Location: London Date joined YEUK: October 2014 Role within YEUK: National Youth Ambassador Inspirational Role within YEUK: Peer Mentor First point of contact with YEUK: Emailed requesting to join YEUK Ambassador Team Referred Organisation: Self-referral via email to the info account
“Being a part of YEUK has really allowed me to develop my skills and confidence in terms of speaking out about issues that are affecting my generation, but also on a personal and professional level. It is with the support, advice, and guidance of the staff and other ambassadors, as well as the events I have been part of with YEUK that I’ve felt able to progress into the ‘world of work’ and start my journey in my dream career. Being able to stand up and use my personal experiences, as well as those of other young people, in a way which is directly influencing decision makers is amazing. I think it’s so vital for young people to be supported and encouraged on their journey into work, and YEUK are at the forefront of making sure that happens with the youth voice leading the charge. I really want to thank LJ and Sylvia for believing in me and encouraging me to do things that I didn’t think I could; both within the group and in my life in general.” Jenny joined YEUK when she realised that during her time at university she hadn’t networked and gained the world of work skills needed to enter the career she desired when she graduated. She contacted YEUK because she was beginning to suffer a period of desperation during unemployment. Despite her degree, and after many rejections for eligible positions, her prospects became limited to part time work. What appealed to Jenny about becoming a YEUK Youth Ambassador was the ability to upskill and develop through networking and support. Although Jenny had been involved in various volunteer organisations in the past, she realised she needed to gain the right experience for the sector that interested her. The YEUK Youth Ambassador programme offered her the opportunity to get involved in promoting the voices of young people. During Jenny’s time with YEUK Since becoming a Youth Ambassador, Jenny has attended many YEUK and external events sharing with the YEUK network the frustrations of a young graduate with a range of work based experience trying to gain employment. Through networking, Jenny has showcased her confidence and skills. She has enabled young people to be recognised as being highly employable and to have the skills needed to represent an organisation. A BRILLIANT ADVOCATE Jenny’s frustrations of not being able to gain full time employment in the career of her choice, yet rightfully, believing that she was employable, gave her the confidence to stand up for herself. In doing so she represents all young people at a national level. This enabled her to represent YEUK’s Youth Voice as soon as she became a Youth Ambassador. Jenny has since become employed in the sector and position she has been passionate about joining for some time. Through doing so her confidence and personal development have progressed. She is a brilliant advocate for young people who draw on personal resilience, seek support and ask for help. She has enabled YEUK to truly understand the limitations of young people who have limited foundations and support. This has helped shape the mentoring and support that YEUK provides to young people to enable them to progress.
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Youth Employment UK CIC
Youth Employment UK CIC (YEUK) is a not for profit membership organisation that was set up to support all those working in the youth employment space including young people who need to be represented at a senior policy level. The remit of YEUK is: • To provide a platform for young people to have a voice on youth employment issues that affect them • To support young people with information, networking and inspiration to help them progress
Our core Youth Friendly principles are: • Youth Voice • Creating Opportunity • Recognising Talent • Fair Employment • Developing People
• To support organisations working in the youth employment space by providing an impartial platform for them to communicate, share best practice and network • To campaign and influence policy on the issues and barriers that affect our members.
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THE YEUK JOURNEY SO FAR… “Youth Voice” and best practice YEUK has;
Creating Partnerships YEUK has;
• Provided a platform for more than 10,000 young people, employers, educators and youth organisations
• Established a high profile, expert-led advisory board which includes the CEO’s of the British Youth Council, AELP, Bright Futures and Plotr as well as other leading figures
• Developed an exceptional volunteer ambassador programme which has supported more than 80 young people in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales • Had over 60,000 unique visitors to our site
• Created key partnerships that have supported young people including partnering with Plotr the careers inspiration website, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and AELP.
• Put young people in over 200 hours of youth employment conferences and debates to ensure their voices are heard including national conferences with organisations such as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), NCFE and Inclusion • Created over 400 articles and resources for young people and organisation members – 182 articles have been written by young people • Been interviewed on national and local radio, TV and media publications on over 30 occasions • Had four different countries ask to share our practice in their own work. Campaigning and political work YEUK has; • Lobbied 140 MPs to create more youth friendly constituencies and securing backing from a number of MPs, including senior Government Ministers such as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan MP, Skills Minister Nick Boles MP and Cabinet Office Minister Matthew Hancock MP (formerly Skills Minister) • Been mentioned at Prime Minister’s Questions and in a Parliamentary debate • Encouraged more than 750 organisations to become Youth Friendly • Hosted a Youth Friendly business awards presented by Skills Minister Nick Boles • Contributed to two Education Select Committee reports and an inquiry by the National Union of Students (NUS), hosted its own parliamentary debate on careers education, been mentioned at Prime Minister’s Questions and supported the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Youth Unemployment • Supported and/or been mentioned in reports and manifestos by The Found Generation, the Work Foundation, NUS, Bite the Ballot, and the Young Women’s Trust.
Being an Ambassador gives young people the chance to represent others in their generation who face one of the most persistent problems of our times and to exercise our voice when people within our age group feel they are powerless when they are unemployed. Whether contributing to the magazine, representing the organisation at conferences or hosting your own event, being an Ambassador allows personal growth, as well as making a difference to those around you. Jack Welch, YEUK Ambassador
CASE STUDY OF A YEUK YOUTH AMBASSADOR #02
Inderpreet Sira Age: 23 Location: Warwick Date joined YEUK: April 2014 Role within YEUK: National Youth Ambassador Inspirational Role within YEUK: Regional Leader First point of contact with YEUK: Emailed requesting to join YEUK Ambassador Team Referred Organisation: Self-referral via email to the info account
“YEUK has provided me with an abundance of opportunities to further my ambitions and passion on youth employment as a whole. During my educational journey, I came across a number of obstacles, which made me question not only the education system but also myself. YEUK has allowed me to gain vital confidence and a sense of self-belief in my abilities. I am passionate about global development and strongly believe that every individual has the capabilities to achieve their career aspirations and follow their dreams. My journey so far with YEUK has prompted me to question the notion of how my actions can have a wider impact on young people today and therefore has motivated me to never give up on doing what is right.” Indrepeet (Indy) joined as a Youth Ambassador during the #YouthFriendlyMP campaign. She is a passionate young person with extensive volunteering experience overseas in Italy and Malaysia and with various UK based local charities. She wanted to be a YEUK Youth Ambassador because she had been working with young people in Malaysia who had not received an education and were desperate to do so. Indy recognised that the UK’s free education system is a privilege, yet was frustrated that the education she had received had failed to help her achieve her own personal ambitions to progress to university. She believed in YEUK – that all young people in the UK should have a voice, that all young people should have clear impartial careers advice and be supported on their own route. She believes this should be shared at local, national and international levels. Indy was advised that she would not be able to progress to university by her secondary school and that she should take an apprentice route. However, the career that she wanted dictated that she needed to go to university. During INDy’s time with YEUK Indy also connected her passion of establishing a more developed attitude in society that young people have the ability to convey what they know and want at a global level. By using the framework of the Youth Friendly badge she reached out into her community introducing the concept that employers/ professionals need to support young people, to enable the transition from education to the world of work and that transition needed to be more joined up. Through her engagement with employers she was able to generate several sign-ups to the Youth Friendly Badge. Appealing to young people in her community about their ability to be heard through the YEUK e-magazine, she brought together many articles and in doing so, gave local young people a voice. She raised awareness to the engagements she had experienced with local organisations when introducing YEUK when attending YEUK and external events. Through a work experience opportunity with an external organisation, Indy brought together introductory YEUK presentation and workshop for Belarusian young people visiting the UK, giving them the opportunity to share their experiences of youth employment and unemployment in their own country and local community. The visitors were able to seek advice from each other and UK based young people to take home. A BRILLIANT ADVOCATE Indy’s story highlights the frustration created in young people who have the passion, ambition and ability to succeed. Indy’s ability to seek out opportunity and the drive to achieve what she desires has taken her far and wide to be educated for her future role, had Indy been supported while she was in education her career journey would have been far less strenuous mentally and emotionally. Indy has since enrolled at university where she is studying international politics. She is a brilliant example of how to survive in in an education system that has failed to harness a young person’s need to be heard.
CASE STUDY OF A YEUK YOUTH AMBASSADOR #03
“Youth employment remains such an acute problem for many communities in all parts of the UK – not one part has been left unscathed. It is fantastic to know I have the platform to convey the different stories and issues for a recognised enterprise like YEUK and enhance my existing work across a number of fields.” Jack contacted YEUK to understand more about the Youth Ambassador programme when he was coming to the end of his degree. At that time on campus and also in the youth community he was heavily involved in, youth unemployment was high on the agenda. The rate of youth employment was stubbornly high and although Jack had taken up lots of opportunities in order to gain work experience, develop his skills and network – whilst knowing that there were many incentives for employers from Government that had been brought about to reduce the numbers of young people unemployed – he also knew that the landscape for young people leaving education and transcending into the world of work wasn’t really changing. Jack wanted to become a Youth Ambassador to enable him to introduce the concept of the joined up approach that YEUK was working to achieve through good practice share, contributing to policy, also through empowering and educating young people of the root causes of youth unemployment.
Jack Welch Age: 21 Location: Weymouth Date joined YEUK: April 2014 Role within YEUK: National Youth Ambassador; Social Media Assistant Inspirational Role within YEUK: Regional Leader; Political correspondent First point of contact with YEUK: Emailed requesting to join YEUK Ambassador Team Referred Organisation: Self-referral via email to the info account
Jack felt that he could raise awareness of YEUK to young people and youth organisations in his network about the youth un/employment and the true aspect of the bigger picture of youth un/employment and in doing so he would be able to build a portfolio and showcase his written work for his future career. During Jack’s time with YEUK Jack joined YEUK with a passion for writing and in his time with YEUK has written more articles than any other Youth Ambassador. He has progressed from writing about his experiences as a student and the youth engagement opportunities he was undertaking, to writing about the hidden issues of youth unemployment figures such as the Zero Hours Contracts. He has combined attending YEUK and external events with online reporting of the issues discussed, enabling across media platform sharing whilst ensuring that YEUK has a young person in the room to be heard about their experience of unemployment and the landscape a young person is negotiating at this time. All the while raising awareness to YEUK whilst building his professional portfolio and developing his writing style. When YEUK partnered with Plotr and the e-magazine changed format, Jack further developed his writing style by undertaking interviews for the Plotr team. Jack took on the role of YEUK Youth social media assistant to raise the profile of the work of the YEUK Youth Ambassadors. He has raised questions, shared information and engaged with YEUK’s audience through Twitter chats, co-hosted with external organisations that are interested in helping young people succeed in the world of work. A Brilliant Advocate Jack’s passion to share information, ability to network and remain socially active while he develops his writing skills and professional portfolio, highlights the high ambition of the young people today who are willing to get involved with the volunteering community when the cause of the organisation is true to the landscape it is working for. Jack has strengthened the programme YEUK has brought together through sharing his experiences of good and bad volunteering. He has ensured that YEUK remains relevant by feeding back at a granular level the inferences that young people share with him about their experiences of unemployment. Jack sets the bar for the level of integrity and intelligence of young people negotiating a tough employment landscape.
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WHAT DOES YEUK WANT TO ACHIEVE?
• We want to represent all young people (14-24) • We want to support organisations in the UK to understand how to create a Youth Friendly culture in their businesses • We want to support all organisations who are supporting young people to share their good practice and benefit from the experience and expertise of the YEUK network • We want to champion a better standard of services offered to young people • We want to create youth ambassador networks across the UK where young people are leading on the issues that affect them at a local level and supporting other young people in their communities • YEUK aims to influence the Government and/or Parliament, local councils and other bodies with regard to policy.
I joined YEUK as they were connected to Bright Futures and I thought that it was the next step for me. As an Ambassador, YEUK really focuses on your development, providing you with opportunities to gain skills and connections. In return, you help other young people through creating events, social media campaigns and fighting for change. Being an Ambassador has given me experiences to talk about in interviews and has led to employment. Helping other young people achieve their goals whilst finding out about unique opportunities to help build your employability skills. AJ Moore, YEUK Ambassador
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HOW WILL WE ACHIEVE THIS?
YEUK does have a big ambition for its future and the task of reducing youth unemployment in line with the national unemployment figure is a big one. We will continue to work with and support the key government departments, Ministers and organisations with our members. We know that our ambassador programme really works, ensuring that young people are front and centre on policy issues and being consulted by the organisations trying to help them is critical. When the ambassadors are able to work in their local communities we see a positive impact on the peer-topeer support they are able to give.
Growing our ambassador network is key. We want to have young people represented in every region of the UK working with the LEP, Local Authority and education and business networks bridging the gap between young people and the services available to them.
TARGET End of 2015 – we want to have 100 youth ambassadors and the first 3 regional committees End of 2018 – 500 youth ambassadors and 9 regional committees established Total Cost = £216,000
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Being an ambassador allows you to share your passion with others, it provides fantastic training and networking opportunities. Being a YEUK ambassador has opened up many opportunities for me to grow, learn and develop and it’s a privilege to represent such a passionately devoted youth organisation. Shakira Martin, YEUK Ambassador
Through the ambassador network we will be able to reach more young people to encourage them to join YEUK. We will also increase our presence in schools, colleges, universities and through Jobcentre locations around the UK.
Increasing our membership reach of organisations and the opportunity for sharing best practice and networking will require additional team resources at YEUK, the team will work with partners and direct in the community.
TARGET
TARGET
End of 2015 – 25,000 young members
End of 2015 – 1500 organisational members
End of 2018 – 100,000 young members
End of 2018 – 7000 organisational members
Total Cost = £45,000
Total Cost = £70,000
CASE STUDY OF A YEUK YOUTH AMBASSADOR #04
“I joined YEUK as the work that they promoted, on their website, looked like something that I would be interested. I was previously a member of Bright Futures and I found out about YEUK through them. During my time as a YEUK Ambassador, I feel that I have been given great opportunities to network and build my skills. I have completed my NVQ L4 Diploma in IAG and safeguarding training with NCC. I was really happy to meet other YEUK Ambassadors as we all have a lot in common. We are passionate about youth issues and want to bring about positive changes. We all have different causes, but we are a collective force for change.” Alexa-Jane (AJ) signed up as a YEUK Youth Ambassador in her final year as an accountancy student at the University of Worcester. She had been working part time in the careers department of the university and had begun to realise that this was a career for her. She became frustrated with the limited careers education she had experienced. In hindsight, she did not need her degree to become a careers advisor.
Alexa-Jane Moore Age: 23 Location: Worcestershire Date joined YEUK: January 2014 Role within YEUK: National Youth Ambassador Inspirational Role within YEUK: Regional Leader, Peer Mentor First point of contact with YEUK: Emailed requesting to join YEUK Ambassador Team Referred Organisation: Bright Futures
During Jenny’s time with YEUK In the time AJ has volunteered with YEUK, she has introduced the Youth Friendly badge to many organisations including presenting to and signing up her university and her local MP, Robin Walker. Through the many articles AJ wrote in her early days with YEUK, she learnt how to respond constructively to questions in job interviews and develop her presentation style, both one to one and in groups. She used the feedback from an employer after a job rejection to deliver a workshop with young people who had SEND designed to share her understanding of bringing together a CV. Her participation in the YEUK Youth Friendly MP Campaign in 2014 led to a local youth-led event in Worcester, raising awareness of YEUK and also enabling young people to learn more about local opportunities to get involved in and increase their employability. AJ has now completed her NVQ Level 4 in Careers Information and Guidance. She networked with the employer members of YEUK to gain clients to bring her NVQ projects together. She further represents YEUK at conferences and raises awareness of YEUK on social media. A BRILLIANT ADVOCATE AJ has identified key areas of YEUK to best develop herself for her future career. She has become a brilliant advocate of YEUK and the potential it offers its volunteers through networking and upskilling for career development and CV building. AJ is always is keen to support young people who are finding it hard to become employed. She uses her spare time wisely to raise awareness of the frustrations of a young person negotiating the current youth employment landscape.
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YOUR CALL TO ACTION
YEUK has only had limited funding but we have been able to have a huge impact so far with our limited resources. To realise our ambition and to make a continued and sustainable difference to youth unemployment we now need further support. What can you do? • Become a patron or donor of YEUK • Become a Youth Friendly organisation by signing the Charter • Encourage your network to join our membership services • Signpost young people to our work and the benefits of joining • Continue to help with our lobbying and campaigning work • Choose YEUK as your community/charitable organisation and help raise some funds for us • Volunteer some time with us and share your expertise.
For more information visit our website at www.yeuk.org.uk
Being an Ambassador provides the opportunity to be able to share your experiences with others along with learning and gaining insight from their personal story. Every moment inspires you to work harder and try and create a positive change. All young people are able to gain a tremendous amount of confidence and self-belief through the opportunities YEUK offers, which plays a huge role in taking the first steps towards achieving your career aspirations. Indy Sira, YEUK Ambassador
www.yeuk.org.uk Youth Employment UK, Inspire House, 28 Buttercup Close, Corby, Northants, NN18 8LB. 0844 4143101
CIC Company Number: 08290820