Practical Interventions in Youth Unemployment
Gerry Ford, BA (hons), FRSA, QAEP
Director, Advantage
 Poor Health
 low self-esteem
 Low education attainment
 Single parent family
 Violence and trauma
 Poverty
 Low parental education levels
 Generational unemployment
 A low-income community
 High crime rate community
 Discrimination
 And a Low performing school
Outline
1. Advantage elevator pitch
2. What’s the rationale? Financial & social impacts
3. Examples of practical interventions: Example Projects The environments we worked in
The barriers we faced
The models we used
The Outcomes
4. And finally a tour of two of our products:
‘Start A Business Toolkit’
‘Get That Job Toolkit’
1. Elevator Pitch
A project design & management company
Youth enterprise & employability specialists
A small company dedicated to making a big difference
We interact with over 10,000 young people each year
Work in both the public & private sectors
Creative, innovative, cost-effective approach
International project design and delivery experience up to £100m
Advantage has worked tirelessly over the last
20 years and has designed and delivered
innovative programmes that have changed the
hearts and minds of our young people.
Minister for Enterprise
2. So, what’s the rationale?
Why invest in youth enterprise & employability?
Negative Social Impacts
The link between youth unemployment and developmental problems is well
established and depressing in itself:
Restricts skills development at a key time
Results in a greater likelihood of being out of work later in life
Reduces the stigma of unemployment
Read less, lose sense of time and punctuality, and have less social activity
Experience anxiety, low self-esteem, depression
Increase in criminal activity and other forms of antisocial behaviour
Increase in suicide rate
Loss in morale and the onset of apathy
Financial Impact
Evidence from the last significant economic downturn in the US 1990’s:
c3 million young people slipped into poverty level
25% remained at that level a decade later
Resulted in massive negative social, emotional and educational impacts
Estimated economic loss: $35 billion per annum
Long-term drag: $1.7 trillion over the lifetime of young person
Source: First Focus 2008
The benefits of Employability Programmes
The importance of work cannot be underestimated as the means by which most
people play a full and active part in community life:
Undertaking an employability programme can, in itself, be a significant factor in
helping a young unemployed person avert potential behavioural problems.
Employability programmes can quickly establish self-worth and a view of ‘active
citizenship’.
Employability programmes help determine a particular career path
They provide the skills, experience and contacts necessary to facilitate entry into a
chosen career.
The Opinion of Business – Youth Employability Programmes
BOC values the ideas and enthusiasm of the younger
generation as much as the insights and experience of
its existing staff
Intel believes young people are the key to solving
global challenges
Both our people and our communities benefit by
raising a young person’s educational level and
widening their horizons
So that’s a fairly widely accepted rationale...
3. Now some examples of practical interventions that worked.
Greenland
N Ireland
Iraq
Boost
An employability programme for young people aged 16-24 in rural areas of NI
Quest
An innovative new employability programme for young prisoners in Belfast NI
YEP
An enterprise & employability programme for young people in Basrah, Iraq
RYE
A rural enterprise & employability programme for young people in Greenland,
Finland, Faeroes & NI
Environment: Rural areas across Northern Ireland
Barriers: Communication; Transport; Internet access;
Disjointed provision; No rural-specific offer; New brand
Model: Mass marketing; Workshops; Toolkit;
Certificate from Industry; Wrap-around service; TTE;
! Driven by the needs of industry
Do you feel more prepared for the world of work, after
completing the Boost programme?
16%
Yes
84%
No
Where did the Boost Programme take you?
17%
30%
Employed Part time
Employed Full time
23%
Unemployed
In education
30%
Environment:
Young Offenders Prison
Barriers:
60% of YO have difficulty with communication
30% have an alcohol problem
25% are already Fathers
71% involved with social services before prison
74% re-offend within one year
The cost of a custodial place in NI is £117,000pa
Model:
Employability skills workshops and creation of 2 Social
Enterprises
Environment:
Young Offenders Prison
Barriers:
60% of YO have difficulty with communication
30% have an alcohol problem
25% are already Fathers
71% involved with social services before prison
74% re-offend within one year
The cost of a custodial place in NI is £117,000pa
Model:
Employability skills workshops and creation of 2 Social
Enterprises
Communication
Initiative & Enterprise
Problem solving
Working with others
Planning & organising
ICT
Self management
Life-long learning
Numeracy & literacy
Key! Attitude more important than education or
experience
Prisoners’ Comments:
"Quest is an amazing thing that has helped me realise that I can make something of
my life and it's given me a 2nd chance.“ - Dean
“Quest has made me more confident and I feel it has changed my whole outlook on
life. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT." – Kevin
"I was at a bump in my road of life, Quest has shown me that I can be successful and
even more, I believe I will be successful." – Chris
Comments from Industry:
“I LOVED this morning. Thank you so much for inviting me to come along - I’m still
buzzing.”
“They have a real bond and passion for changing their lives.”
“I’ve come across many different businesses and business people in my time, but I
felt their enthusiasm, pride and commitment was totally heartfelt and made them
stand out. “
“In today’s fast paced world it’s all too easy to overlook the challenges which others
face, so it was very refreshing, and also somewhat humbling, to get an insight into
what your team and the guys in the prison have achieved. Well done to you all.”
Early days of course, but indications are good...
Of the five of our group of prisoners released since completing Quest;
3 are in full-time employment
1 is in full-time further education
1 is Unemployed
Most importantly:
None have re-offended so far.
Which, if maintained, means a saving of £585,000pa to the taxpayer.
YEP
Environment:
Basrah, Iraq. Heavily militarised
Barriers:
Day to day movement; Security; Physical infrastructure
Model: Internship scheme linked to multinational supply chain
Environment:
Basrah, Iraq. Heavily militarised
Barriers:
Day to day movement; Security; Physical infrastructure
Model: Internship scheme, training & Kite mark linked to
multinational supply chain
Results:
100 companies engaged
New kite mark established with buy in from multinationals
25 companies accredited with YEP kite mark pa
550 young people employed
I would recommend this to anyone – it provides a life experience and gives you an excellent
starting point.
I would just like to say thank you for the opportunity to realise and discover that my
dream/ambition is possible.
I would just like to say thank you for the time and effort, and the confidence to take the next
step.
I’ve just had a wonderful experience, possibly life changing.
Environment:
Arctic Greenland, Faroe Is., Northern Finland, NI
Barriers:
Remote rural environments, alien concept to some, lack of
knowledge and experience
Model: Awareness campaigns, Ideas generation workshops
linked to skills/passions, BAP, supporting (country specific)
research; online resource bank, growth sectors, onward
referral & ongoing support
Are you more likely to start a business?
2%
Yes 97%
No 2%
98%
Are you more aware of the importance of
enterprise?
2%
1%
Yes 97%
No 2%
Undecided 1%
97%
In summary... Some common threads:
We Involve the participants in design, delivery & evaluation
We take a person-centred, rounded approach
We adopt non-formal learning approaches
We embed entrepreneurship in all that we do
We promote to those furthest from the job market (NEETs)
We push the right attitude and the work ethic expected by
employers from the word go.
4. Product Showcase